With Halloween just behind us and Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of weeks, it might be easy to forget that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

You should not.

Lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is the second most common form of cancer, with only prostate cancer being more common in men and breast cancer more common in women. Estimates are that 226,650 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year (115,970 of which will be in women and 110,6800 in men) and, sadly, that there will be 124,730 deaths due to lung cancer this year (64,190 of which will be men and 60,540 will be women.)

In our Tri-State Area, it is estimated there will be 10,250 new cases diagnosed in Pennsylvania this year and 5,820 deaths. In Ohio, estimates are there will be 9,950 new cases diagnosed and 5,630 deaths. And, in West Virginia, it is estimated there will be 2,050 new cases diagnosed and 1,390 deaths.

Do the math: It adds up to 653 people in the United States being diagnosed each day. That’s about 27 people each hour, or one every two and a half minutes.

There are numerous risk factors for the disease, the cancer society reports, including smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke, exposure to radon, exposure to asbestos, exposure to other cancer-causing agents in the workplace, air pollution, certain dietary supplements and arsenic in the drinking water. Overall, there is a 1 in 16 chance a man will develop lung cancer in his lifetime. For women, it’s about a 1 in 17 chance.

Awareness is especially critical to residents of the Tri-State Area. According to the American Lung Association, while the national rate of new cases per 100,000 residents is 52.8, West Virginia has a rate of 76.3 new cases per 100,000 residents, and ranks 50th in the country. During the last five years, the number of new cases in the state did not change significantly.

Ohio has a rate of 63.9 new cases and ranks 43rd among all states. During the last five years, the rate of new cases in Ohio has improved by 12 percent, the association added. In Pennsylvania, the rate of new cases is 56.9 percent, which places it 32nd among the states. During the last five years, the rate of new cases has improved by 14 percent.

The five-year survival rate for lung cancer in the United States is 29.7 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Ohio it is 28.4 percent, which ranks it 23rd among the 39 states that report that data. Pennsylvania has a survival rate of 31.8 percent, placing it ninth, and West Virginia has a survival rate of 25.5 percent, placing it 33rd.

Numbers also show that while the national rate for lung cancers caught at an early stage is 28.1 percent, the rate is West Virginia is 28.4 percent (25th among the states who have that data), the rate in Pennsylvania is 29.3 percent (18th among the states) and the rate in Ohio is 29.2 percent (19th among the states with that data.)

Tobacco use has been identified as the leading risk factor for lung cancer, with cigarette smoking linked to between 80 percent to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Numbers from the American Lung Association show that an estimated 11.6 percent of U.S. adults currently smoke cigarettes. West Virginia’s rate is 21 percent, Ohio’s rate is 17.1 percent and Pennsylvania’s rate is 14.9 percent.

Those are sobering numbers, and they offer reasons for area residents to be aware of the dangers and take steps which can help stop the deadly disease.