Lung cancer cases in women on rise, say docs

IVETHA*, a 45-year-old woman, had all the symptoms of lung cancer, but she neglected to pay attention to her symptoms as she was busy taking care of her husband who had a cardiac problem and was undergoing treatment.

- SINDUJA JANE @Chennai

IVETHA*, a 45-year-old woman, had all the symptoms of lung cancer, but she neglected to pay attention to her symptoms as she was busy taking care of her husband who had a cardiac problem and was undergoing treatment. She had fatigue, breathlessness, and occasionally blood in sputum, but she kept postponing consultation with the doctor. When she finally decided to consult a doctor, she was in the advanced stage of lung cancer. Nivetha was a non-smoker, recollects Dr Archana Elangovan, consultant, surgical oncology, SIMS Hospital, Chennai.

Doctors say there has been a slight increase in the number of lung cancer cases in women. "We don't know if those are smokers or non-smokers. It could be because of an increase in smoking among women also," said Dr R Swaminathan, director of Cancer Institute (WIA) at Adyar, who is also the head of Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Cancer Registry.