Amy42601

Hello...to make a short story long, my father died of lung and throat cancer in 1984. I was 14 years old. He and my mother were divorced and he was also an alcoholic, which we were told had contributed to his demise. He was a smoker most of his life, starting at the age of 18 up to nearly literally the day he died...I think he was 54. We never had a relationship, so I'm not sure. Anyway, my mother was also a smoker, starting again at age 18, but quit in 1993. She was 59 years of age and I was at that time 23. She was fine for a while, but in 1999 had been told that she had esophagial cancer, which was her primary cancer, and lung cancer as her secondary. They couldn't pin point the lung cancer tumour, but did radiation and chemo for her. Finally, they found the mass and it had moved to just behind her heart, making surgery impossible. She died at age 65 in November 1999 of what was now the main diagnosis of Lung Cancer with Brain Matastes (sp?).

I am now 31 years of age. I have never smoked in my life, but I am now fearful that I am at risk for lung cancer because my parents smoked. I was exposed to second-hand smoke from literally the time I was in my mother's womb (they didn't know the risks involved then apparently), until I was 23. I try to stay away from smokey environments, and I try to stay healthy and active.

What are my chances, if any, for getting lung cancer? I am worried about this and have been since the death of my mother, especially since she'd quit smoking a while prior to her getting it. I realise that it can take a while to manifest itself, but that only adds to my worries. If anyone out there has any advice or knows if I am now at risk for it, your comments are appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your time.

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Amy