Women with advanced lung cancer have a better survival rate than men, but this is only true for women over the age of 60. For women under the age of 60, the survival rate is the same as men's."We don't know why, but the hypothesis is that age is acting as a surrogate for lower estrogen levels and those lower levels of estrogen may affect the metabolism of chemotherapy agents," said Regina Vidaver, Ph.D., executive director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership based in Madison, Wisc.
These findings were presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
At the meeting, researchers showed data that indicated that pre-menopausal estrogen levels were associated with a higher death rate among women receiving chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which makes up about 85 percent of all lung cancer cases.
In addition, women who have never smoked are more at risk for lung cancer than men who never smoked, with some research indicating that estrogen is again involved.
1. Hi Farah:
I am a 46 year old mother of two teenage children. In October of 2001 if was diagnosed with cerical cancer. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation. I also had two overnight stays in the hospital for internal radiation. It was a very difficult time in my life. The treatments were successful, however, two years ago I was diagnosed again with metastatic cancer. It had spread to my lungs. I lost my hair, my eyebrows and my eyelashes but I never lost my will to live! Talking to survivors is paramount!!! I know first hand how tough this battle is. You can do it!!! Don't let anyone, not statistics (especially) tell you anything different. You are unique. Remember that. I, like thousands and thousands of other young and old watched your show. Every young girl wanted to be you! Wow, what a compliment. I am still battling with chemotherapy. Had a treatment today in fact. This is going to be ongoing for me. You can beat this disgusting disease. A very good friend of mine lost a son years ago to cancer. She has been his voice ever since. Every September about 800 people gather here in Vancouver, Canada to raise money for research in his name. His name was Michael Cuccione. We have raised hundreds of thousand of dollars in this young man's name. He believed that the answer lies within the child. As he always said, and I quote "One person can only do so much, together we can make a difference". He had a couple of walk-ons on Baywatch and other Disney Productions. David Hasselhoff has been present at this fundraiser. He has been instumental in helping us fight this disgusting disease. Talk to him. I'm quite sure he would be a terrific support. Anyway, I know you recieve thousands of emails and you can't possibly respond to all of them. If you get a chance I would love to converse with you. Perhaps I can help you fight. You are strong, you can do this!!!!!
God Bless You,
Teri Chase
Posted at 7:15AM on Jul 11th 2007 by Teri CHase