And contrary to popular belief, it's not only smokers who are at risk, as Advertiser reporter Louise Bellicoso finds out in a special report to mark Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

MORE than 100 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every day. And it's not just smokers who suffer from the disease, which kills 92 people a day.

For Wendy Knowles, the statistics are more than alarming. She herself was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year, despite never having smoked in her life.

Wendy, of New Mills, visited her GP last December after suffering from a cough for two weeks and a feeling of breathlessness. Her doctor initially thought she had a chest infection or asthma but, after a series of tests, Wendy, 62, was given the devastating news that she had lung cancer. Tests revealed she had two and a half litres of fluid on her lungs and her left lung had collapsed.

She explained: "I went to see an oncologist at Christies who said I couldn't have radiotherapy and I couldn't have an operation because of where it (the cancer) was.

"The only treatment I could have was chemotherapy and it was treatable but not curable.

"I asked the doctor what I was looking at and he said it could be a week, it could be two weeks, it could be a month or it could be a year."

After six courses of chemotherapy, Wendy now takes one Tarceva tablet a day to help treat the disease, a drug funded privately. But if Wendy was an NHS patient, she wouldn't be able to get Tarceva because Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust, along with many other PCTs in the country, doesn't fund it.

A spokesman for the PCT said: "The PCT is aware of a number of new lung cancer treatments that are available, but so far these have been shown to have limited effectiveness.

"However, the PCT will consider all requests for drugs on an individual basis via its non-contract treatment panel."

The alternative would be an intravenous drug which does carry a series of side effects and would mean Wendy spending a great deal of time in hospital, away from her husband Peter and her family.

She has been taking Tarceva for four months and her condition is monitored regularly by her doctors.

Now, during Lung Cancer Awareness Month, she is encouraging people to get checked out as soon as possible by a doctor if they are not feeling well.

"If you have any problems, go to your GP," she advised. "Don't hold back and think I'll go in a couple of weeks if it hasn't got any better. Go sooner rather than later.

"Be aware of the figures involved with lung cancer. It doesn't just hit people who smoke. Nobody deserves it and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

"The sooner the doctors get it and you can start treatment, the better your chance of survival.

Stigma attached to disease

For Wendy, the cancer was picked up too late and it's just a matter of time before she loses her fight with the disease. But until then, she takes every day as it comes and finds planning for the future impossible.

"I don't know what I can plan for, she said. "I don't know what I can look forward to. I try to remain positive and to see the humour in things.

"I think: am I going to see Christmas? Will I ever see my grandchildren? It totally alters your perspective on life.

"When I finished my chemotherapy I went on holiday to Northern Scotland and said I would love to go back again. I've booked for next year and I hope to be able to go there again."

Wendy believes there is a stigma surrounding lung cancer with people believing that it only affects people who smoke. But she's keen to dispel that myth.

"There is a stigma that comes with cancers," she explained. "If you go in the sun, you'll get skin cancer, if you have liver cancer, you drink too much. If you've got breast cancer, you're overweight.

"But I've never smoked. That is one thing I feel guilty about and the first thing I say to people who smoke,"she said. "I shouldn't have to do that."

Statistics from Macmillan Cancer Support show that one in eight cases of lung cancer are not linked to smoking although exposure to secondhand smoke and some substances such as asbestos will increase the risk.

Professor Jessica Corner, Director for Improving Cancer Services, Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Lung cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer, but early diagnosis can save lives.
"It's vital that people take any symptoms seriously and get checked out without delay to ensure the very best chance of survival."
Macmillan Cancer Support encourage people to get checked out if they have any of the following symptoms, particularly if they smoke or have smoked:
* a cough that doesn't go away after two to three weeks,
* worsening of a long-standing cough,
* persistent chest infections,
* coughing blood,
* unexplained persistent breathlessness
* unexplained persistent tiredness or lack of energy
* unexplained persistent weight loss
* persistent chest and/or shoulder pain.

Radon danger in Derbyshire increases risk

For smokers, high levels of radon can increase your risk of developing lung cancer by 25 per cent.

Levels of radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, are higher in Derbyshire than other parts of the country and tends to accumulate in houses. It produces alpha radiation with high exposures to such radiation known to increase the risk of lung cancer. The risk is further increased if you smoke and can be as high as 25 per cent. There is also a small increase in risk for non-smokers.

You can reduce your risk from exposure from radon by checking the levels in your house and installing a special underground ventilation system. For more information on radon, see the Health Protection Agency website, www.hpa.org.uk.