oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide gas, a waste product. The lining around the lungs, called the pleura, helps to protect the lungs and allows them to move during breathing. The windpipe (trachea) brings air down into the lungs. It divides into tubes called bronchi, which divide into smaller branches called bronchioles. At the end of these small branches are tiny air sacs known as alveoli. Most lung cancers start in the lining of the bronchi but they can also begin in other areas such as the trachea, bronchioles, or alveoli. Lung cancer often takes many years to develop. Once the lung cancer occurs, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. Lung cancer is a life- threatening disease because it often spreads in this way before it is found. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. During the year 2000 there will be about 164,100 new cases of lung cancer in this country. About 156,900 people will die of lung cancer: about 89,300 men and 67,600 women. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Lung cancer is fairly rare in people under the age of 40. The average age of people found to have lung cancer is 60. If lung cancer is found and treated by surgery early, before it has spread to lymph nodes or other organs, the five-year survival rate is about 42%. However, few lung cancers are found at this early stage. The five-year survival rate for all stages of lung cancer combined was 14% in 1995, the last year for which we have national data. A risk factor is something that increases a person's chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be controlled. Others, such as a person's age, can't be changed. Smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer. More than 8 out of 10 lung cancers are thought to result from smoking. The longer a person has been smoking, and the more packs per day smoked, the greater the risk. If a person stops smoking before lung cancer develops, the lung tissue slowly returns to normal. Stopping smoking at any age lowers the risk of lung cancer. Cigar and pipe smoking are almost as likely to cause lung cancer as cigarette smoking. There is no evidence that smoking low tar cigarettes reduces the risk of lung cancer. Nonsmokers who breathe the smoke of others also increase their risk of lung cancer. Non- smoking spouses of smokers, for example, have a 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than do spouses of nonsmokers. Workers exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace are also more likely to get lung cancer. There are other risk factors for lung cancer besides smoking. People who work with asbestos have a higher risk of getting lung cancer. If they also smoke, the risk is greatly increased. The type of lung cancer linked to asbestos, mesothelioma, often starts in the pleura. This type of cancer is covered in a separate American Cancer Society document. Although asbestos was used for many years, the government has now nearly stopped its use in the workplace and in home products. Besides smoking and asbestos, there are a few other risk factors for lung cancer. These include certain cancer-causing agents in the workplace, radon gas, and lung scarring from some types of pneumonia. Also, people who have had lung cancer in the past have a higher chance of having it again and, as mentioned earlier, the risk of lung cancer increases with age. Some studies have shown that the lung cells of women who smoke may develop cancer more easily than those of men. Clearly, the best way to prevent lung cancer is not to smoke or be around those who do. Young people should not start smoking, and those who already smoke should quit. Everyone, especially babies and children, should be protected from breathing in other people's smoke. While some people believe that air pollution is a major cause of lung cancer, the truth is that air pollution only slightly increases the risk. Smoking is by far the mor

Some common words found in the essay are:
Cancer AJCC, Hoarseness Weight, , Cancer Society, lung cancer, cell lung cancer, cell lung, cancer cells, lung cancers, lymph nodes, cancer spread, risk lung, radiation therapy, clinical trial, stage cancer, risk lung cancer, tests lung cancer, type lung cancer, cancer cell lung,
Approximate Word count = 3355
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)