The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently organizing awareness-raising activities on the World Lung Cancer Month, which is globally observed during the entire month of November every year. This event aims at raising the public awareness about lung cancer risk factors, its symptoms, the importance of its early detection, as well as supporting lung cancer researches.
Through an awareness infographic published on its Twitter page and its awareness platform «Live Well», MOH has pointed out the appropriate diagnostic testing, treatment approaches based on health status, and risk factors, such as smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.
It is noted that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women, making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths, while it ranks 8th in the Kingdom compared to other types of cancer. Also, lung cancer ranks first worldwide with an incident rate of 11.6% compared to other types of cancer, and is the leading cause of death by 18.4% of the total cancer deaths, given that 1.76 million people die from lung cancer each year worldwide. Besides, cigarette smoking is linked to about 90% of lung cancer deaths, and most patients do not show symptoms of lung cancer until they have reached advanced stages.