Wednesday, December 1, 2010

How did my little cousin get lung cancer


How did my little cousin get lung cancer?
I have a younger cousin who is only five and she got diagnosed with lung cancer and I don't know how it happened. No one in her family smokes and no one she is close to smokes either. I don't understand this at all....she is so young...
Cancer - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There is no answer to your question. Cancer does not discriminate. I had 0.02% chance of getting breast cancer based on my age, health, family history, etc. I got it. I had even less of a chance of getting another, totally unrelated cancer, and I did. Doctors said I had a better chance of winning the lottery AND being struck by lightening than I had getting a third cancer and yes, you guess it, I did. The first was at 36, 2nd at 37, & 3rd at 38. I wish I could say something that would help it all make sense but it doens't. What I can tell you is, treatment will be hard on your cousin, but as a patient I believe it's harder watching someone you love going through treatment. Be strong, don't lose faith, pray and love her every day you have her.
2 :
This is probably not the usual type of lung cancer that is often (85 to 90%) related to a long years of tobacco abuse. Find out the histology of this malignancy from the pathology report - if your cousin's parents will release this private information to you. There are many types of cancer that may involve the lungs in a five year old person. This may not be a primary lung cancer but rather a malignancy that started elsewhere and spread to the lung. A nephroblastoma (Wilm's Tumor) could do this, and these are highly responsive to treatments these days. We need more information here. "Lung cancer" is not one disease. Types of children's cancer from the ACS - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_types_of_childhood_cancers_7.asp
3 :
Oh I’m so sorry. We just don’t know what causes cancer in anyone or why some people get it and others don’t. Smoking is only a risk factor for lung cancer it doesn’t mean a smoker will get it or that a mom-smoker will not. It is so unfair and wrong for children to get cancer. I had a 4-month-old baby with metastatic melanoma a few weeks ago, no one understands why. Lung cancer in a child is so very rare. The only type I am aware of is pleuropulmonary blastoma there are less than 50 of these cases worldwide each year. If this is the kind of cancer your cousin has I have included a link to their registry for you, hopefully it will help to answer any questions you may have. http://www.ppbregistry.org/
4 :
There are times when life is definitely not fair. This is one. As Spreedog wrote it is not possible to answer your question without more specific information. It is extremely rare for a child that young, in Canada or the US, to develop a primary tumour in the lung. Simple reason is that they generally are not exposed to sufficient carcinogens. The good news is that long term survival rates are improving.
5 :
It's cause by her surroundings, about 1 in 10 lung cancer patients has no history of direct tobacco exposure. A majority of these patients are women and have a subtype of lung cancer with adenocarcinoma histology. Although rarely discussed, exposure to toxic fumes in the workplace or environmental toxins in the air contribute to a significant number of deaths from lung cancer. For example, occupational exposure to diesel motor emissions, asbestos, and paint was found to be significantly correlated with an increased risk of lung cancer.



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Posted by lung cancer at 10:23 AM