World Lung Cancer Day falls on 1 August each year.
Since 2012, when the day was first declared, the objective has been to spread awareness and to pave the way for better lung health. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers for both genders and is responsible for the most common cancer-related deaths.
This July 1, after being announced by the Australian government in 2023, the National Lung Cancer Screening Program was launched.
The program screens for lung in high-risk Australians. Eligible individuals must be between the ages of 50 and 70 show no symptoms of lung cancer (are asymptomatic), currently smoke or have in the past 10 years, or have a history of tobacco cigarette smoking for a least 30 pack-years. A pack-year smoking 20 cigarettes per day for one year, or 40 cigarettes per day for half a year. Both are one pack-year.
‘There is a lot of hope for the future of lung health in Australia with the National Lung Cancer Screening Program launching last month,’ says Mark Brooke, Lung Foundation Australia CEO. ‘We’re also looking ahead to the work still to be done to remove the stigma around lung cancer, increasing investment in Specialist Lung Cancer Nurses (SLCN) and research, which continue to be areas where lung cancer lacks compared to Australia’s other common cancers.’
Though around 80 per cent of lung cancer diagnoses are attributed to smoking, that still leaves a significant portion of cases (10-15%) developing in individuals who have never smoked.
Sharmila Besre is one such individual. An Epping local and non-smoker, to her and her family’s shock, Sharmila was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer just two days before Christmas 2022, at 43 years of age. Cancer patients often are diagnosed at the later stages, as the symptoms are so often missed as common colds or flus.
‘I was going to my GP with fatigue, my blood tests had high inflammation markers, but it got dismissed as “you’re a mum, you’re working, you’re stressed”,’ says Sharmila. ‘But in hindsight, if you’ve got a problem, it shouldn’t be dismissed. Now I know, but had I known, I would have advocated more for myself. Which I’m doing now with the Lung Foundation.’
She has undergone targeted treatment to slow the progression of the disease. But after time, the cancer has begun to show signs of growth again. Now, Sharmila is participating in a new drug trial, in hopes this will stop the disease progression.
Despite her diagnosis, Sharmila has been ticking off bucket list items with her husband and three young children. Her youngest son was only 7 years old at the time of her diagnosis. They have visited Terracotta Warriors, Angkor Wat, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef, and the Daintree Rainforest.
Visit, lungfoundation.com.au
