Can my mom still get lung cancer after she quit smoking? -
my mom smoked for 19 years. she was 15 when she started and stopped when she was 34. she hasnt smoked for 15 years. does she still have a chance of getting lung cancer? she says she doesnt because after 9 years your lungs repair themselves but im in science right now and im studying smoking and my teacher tells me that people still have a risk and sometimes your lungs dont repair themselves fully. can anyone help me out? that would be grately appreciated
Actually your lungs never recover fully, but after 10 years they will have recovered substantially, and the lung cancer risk is about 1/3 to 1/2 of that of someone who continued to smoke. This is still significantly higher than a -never smoker.-
They say that once you have stopped smoking for five years your lungs clear all the nicotine out and they are as good as never smoked,so I think your mum has a less likely hood of getting cancer than some-one who still smokes 40 a day.I hope this has helped you
People who never smoked get lung cancer so it-s always a possibility.