Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in the United States disproportionately affecting Black Americans, who are less likely to be diagnosed early, less likely to receive surgical treatment, and more likely to not receive any treatment, according to the American Lung Association.
Although smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, there are other ways to develop the disease. In fact, you can still develop lung cancer if you’ve never smoked a day in your life.
Despite this, many people automatically associate lung cancer with smoking, which unfortunately means you may have to deal with the often-asked question: “Did you smoke?”
As someone who has smoked before, this type of stigma can cause you to feel guilty or blame yourself for your diagnosis. Imagine turning to someone for support about your diagnosis and the first thing they do is draw a correlation between your smoking history and your diagnosis. This further adds to the guilt you may already be feeling.
“As a society, we treat the correlation between smoking and lung cancer much more harshly than we do any other disease,” says Mara Antonoff, M.D., an assistant professor of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
“We know that there are certain dietary factors that contribute to things like colon cancer, for instance, yet we don’t accuse those patients of being the cause of their illness,” Dr. Antonoff explains. “And frankly, I just think it’s not fair,” adds Dr. Antonoff.
While initial guilt is normal, dwelling in it can lead to a lower quality of life, as well as more depression and anxiety, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.
Here’s how to let go of the guilt.
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1. Recognize That Lung Cancer Has Many Triggers
A history of smoking may or may not have contributed to your diagnosis, but it is important to remember that
