A 33-year-old member asked:
can the average person breath enough air pollution to give them lung cancer in their lifetime?
2 doctor answers
Dr. Gurmukh Singh answered
48 years experience Pathology
Possible: Depending on genetic predisposition, it is possible for a person to get lung cancer from breathing polluted air. The risk is even higher if the pollution has radioactivity, such as radon gas. About 10% of the lung cancers occur in non-smokers.
Answered on Dec 1, 2013
Dr. Craig Carter answered
39 years experience Thoracic Surgery
Possibly: Not all lung cancer patients smoke. An increasing percentage are developing cancer despite not being smokers. Interestingly, the air quality now is probably better than it was during our peak industrial years.
Answered on Dec 5, 2013
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