I have a female friend who got lung cancer when she was in her thirties. We were taken by surprise to hear the news, as this friend is usually very physically active, riding a bicycle to and from work, and sometimes going to the gym to work out.
Her family conditions are considered a medium-sized family in the local area, not poor or rich, the relationship between husband and wife is also good, and she has no hobby of smoking, I heard that she has cancer, and several friends are talking in private, saying that she must have smoked second-hand smoke.
A friend went to see her and talked to her about it, and she firmly denied that she was smoking second-hand smoke, and she said that her husband did not have the habit of smoking, and her work unit was working in a shopping mall, which is non-smoking.
Hearing her say this, a few friends were confused, so they thought she was because of genetics. Hearing that cancer can also be hereditary, she asked her if the elders in her family had died of cancer.
This friend also denied the claim that the family cancer is genetic, saying that not only his parents are still alive, but even the grandparents in their 80s in the countryside are still alive, and other family members have no history of cancer.
Because lung cancer is generally not felt in the early stage, once it is found to be at an advanced stage, my friend still passed away after two years of painful chemotherapy.
Originally, I had forgotten about it, but today I saw an article published by "Thailand News Network", and I figured out the reason why my friend had cancer.
According to Thailand News Network: Northern regions of Thailand, especially Chiang Mai and Lampang provinces, have seen a surge in lung cancer deaths.
According to Thai official statistics, the number of lung cancer deaths per 100,000 people in Chiang Mai and Lampang increased from 20.3 in 2010 to 30.7 in 2019.
Immediately after discovering this, the Faculty of Medicine of Chiang Mai University in Thailand conducted a study and found that the reason for the surge in lung cancer cases in Chiang Mai and Lampang provinces was due to air pollution.
Chalem, an associate professor at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, revealed that PM2.5 pollution in northern Thailand has worsened significantly over the past 10 years, leading to an increase in lung disease cases, and he called on the Thai government to adopt specific intervention strategies to address air pollution.
Professor Callham referred to a study conducted by the School of Medicine that focused on emphysema patients in Qingdao, an area known for high PM2.5 levels.
Studies have shown significant changes in cells during the high PM2.5 period compared to the low PM2.5 period, suggesting that genetic abnormalities may lead to cancer cells in the future. There have also been reports of an increase in respiratory problems, such as nosebleeds and persistent coughing, during periods of higher PM2.5 concentrations.
During these peak pollution periods, exacerbated emphysema, more serious diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke are also common, highlighting the serious health risks posed by high PM2.5 levels.
Research by Chiang Mai University shows that there is a link between PM2.5 levels and mortality in Chiang Mai, with a 10 microgram per cubic meter (μg/m3) increase in PM2.5 daily concentrations increasing by 1.6% over the next six days.
Rawiwan Olarnratmanee, former dean of Chiang Mai University's School of Architecture, was diagnosed with lung cancer in February and passed away on April 3. So far, four professors in Chiang Mai have died of lung cancer.
Chiang Mai gives people the feeling of beautiful scenery and flowers blooming all year round, but I didn't expect the pollution to be so serious, causing so many people to suffer from lung cancer, which is also terrible.
Thinking of my friend, who had lung cancer, we all looked for the cause in her. Perhaps, her lung cancer was caused by external causes.
The large supermarket where she works has just started to open after the renovation is completed, and there may be toxic gases emitted from the decoration materials, which she didn't even notice at all, which led to lung cancer.