During the year 2009 - the latest for which the figures pertaining to lung cancer are available -, 400 cases of lung cancer were diagnosed across Gwent; and as many as 201 of these cases were diagnosed among women --- thereby indicating that, for the first time ever, the number of lung cancer cases among women was higher than those among men!

Going by the statistics, despite the fact that there has been a decline in the number of lung cancer cases in Gwent as well as the rest of Wales, the number of cases of the cancer among women has witnessed an increase during a
25-year period to 2009. In contrast, the number of lung cancer cases among men has been witnessing a gradual drop.

The figures - brought forth by the charity the British Lung Foundation, in a hard-hitting report titled `Lost Lives' - also revealed that lung cancer is the third most common cancer for men and women in Wales.

The report also highlighted that the death toll linked with the disease is by far the highest for any single cancer --- with 1,894 lung cancer deaths being over three-fold more than the next highest, that is, 623 for colon cancer!

The report - on what the British Lung Foundation has described as "the UK's lung cancer epidemic" - has called for immediate action on three main fronts: attempts to lower smoking levels; earlier diagnosis of lung cancer; and development of new treatments, including a more targeted chemotherapy!