TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in the world. According to the 2020 Global Cancer Statistics (Globocan), there are 1,796,144 deaths from lung cancer in the world. In Indonesia, the incidence of this cancer increased from 30,023 in 2018 to 34,783 in 2020, with the death rate also increasing from 26,069 in 2018 to 30,843 in 2020.
Pada laki-laki, kanker paru menempati urutan pertama penyebab kematian, sementara pada perempuan kanker ini menduduki peringkat keenam dengan angka kematian pada urutan keempat tertinggi.
Spesialis penyakit dalam subspesialisasi hematologi dan onkologi medik di RSCM, Prof. DR. dr. Aru Wisaksono Sudoyo, Sp.PD-KHOM, FACP, menyatakan peluang terkena kanker paru tak bisa lenyap namun punya arti penting. Salah satunya memberikan waktu bagi sistem kekebalan tubuh memperbaiki diri.
"Berhenti merokok untuk memberikan sistem kekebalan tubuh memperbaiki diri," kata Ketua Perhimpunan Onkologi Indonesia (POI) itu.
According to the Mayo Clinic, 12 hours after people quit smoking, the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood drops to a healthy level and more oxygen flows to the body’s organs, allowing you to breathe better. The risk of developing lung cancer can drop by up to 50 percent after 10 years of quitting smoking. This condition is different when smokers never stop smoking.
Habit smoke has been associated with a 20-50-fold chance of developing lung cancer and about 80 percent of death. While in passive smoking, the risk of developing lung cancer and dying increases by 20-30 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that with just one breath, hundreds of toxins in cigarette smoke begin to damage the lungs. When smoke is inhaled, the structures that sweep mucus and debris from the airways become paralyzed, allowing toxic substances to enter the lungs more easily. The condition that follows is a decrease in lung function and causes shortness of breath due to inflammation of the airways and a buildup of mucus in the lungs.
Similar damage is also produced by e-cigarettes or vapes. According to Aru, e-cigarettes damage the lungs, making them look like popcorn. Prior to lung cancer, patients generally have died because their lungs were damaged. The results of a study involving mice showed as many as nine out of 40 mice exposed to e-cigarettes for 54 weeks developed lung adenocarcinoma, or about 22.5 percent.
In terms of content, e-cigarettes and e-cigarettes are known to contain oncogenes including nicotine and its derivatives such as nitrosnicotine, ketones, and nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals.
“The high rate of lung cancer in Indonesia cannot be separated from the high rate of smoking. The incidence of cancer is in the productive age, at the age of 30 and increases many times according to age. It is estimated that it will continue to increase if we do not take action on prevention or concern for early detection,” said an anatomical pathologist at Dharmais Hospital, dr. Evlina Suzanna, Sp. PA.
Also read: What Lung Cancer Patients Need to Do during the Covid-19 Pandemic
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