'Big Bang Theory' actress Kate Micucci, 43, developed lung cancer despite never smoking. Here's what to know.
The Big Bang Theory actress Kate Micucci is on the mend after her successful lung cancer surgery, the star shared in a recent TikTok. “I’m in the hospital but it’s because I had lung cancer surgery yesterday,” the Garfunkel and Oates singer, who is 43, explained. “They caught it really early.”
Despite early detection, Micucci said it was “really weird” to get the diagnosis because she has “never smoked a cigarette” — the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “It was a surprise,” Micucci said. “But also I guess, also, it happens and so the greatest news is they caught it early, they got it out, I’m all good.”
Lung cancer in young women
Lung cancer, the third most common cancer in the United States with the average age of diagnosis at 70, was once thought of as an older man's disease, as men were more likely to smoke and began doing so earlier in history than women. However, now trends are shifting: The rate of new lung cancer cases over the past 44 years has dropped 43% for men, but risen 79% for women, according to the American Lung Association.
Younger women are also more at risk than younger men: A study published in October in JAMA Oncology found that the rates of newly diagnosed lung cancer cases were higher in women ages 35 to 54 than in men of the same age.
Today, risk factors — such as smoking or occupational hazards — are not higher in younger women than men, and therefore it's a bit of a mystery as to why this shift occurred. One theory is that women may be more susceptible to air pollution than men are. In 2022, new research confirmed that air pollution can cause lung cancer in nonsmokers — however, it has yet to be proven whether women may be more at risk for air pollution than men are. Other theories suggest hormones or genetic mutations that are more common in women may be a factor.
While statistics about rising lung cancer rates in women are scary, there is some good news: Women also respond better to treatments, oncologist John C. Kucharczuk shared in a blog post about the uptick in these lung cancer diagnoses for Penn Medicine.
“Female smokers and nonsmokers with cancer have a lot of therapy options, ranging from surgery to radiation to chemotherapy to a combination of them all, as well as newer molecular-based treatments or immunotherapies,” he explained. “For some nonsmokers with suspected genetic abnormalities, targeted therapies have made a big difference."
Lung cancer in nonsmokers
Lighting up may have a long association with lung cancer, but it's clear that smoking is not the only cause of lung cancer — and, in fact, 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year occur in people who never smoked, or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
A risk factor that is the second most likely cause of lung cancer, according to the CDC, is exposure to radon, which is an odorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas that can be found in rocks and dirt. It is estimated to cause 20,000 deaths per year. While there's always radon in the air, the issue occurs when radon builds up in a house, usually from seeping in through cracks. You can test for radon in your home using a kit from a hardware store, and should your home test positive, you can call upon a mitigation contractor to fix the issue.
Even if you're not the one puffing on a cigarette, exposure to secondhand smoke — such as being around someone in your household who is smoking — can contribute to your lung cancer risk. So can exposure to air pollution and asbestos, a class of mineral fibers that has been linked to several health conditions, including lung cancer.
Lung cancer screening
One of the reasons why it’s so important to be screened for lung cancer is that there can be few symptoms in the early stages when it is most treatable.
This year, the American Cancer Society (ACS) updated its screening guidelines to reduce lung cancer deaths, with the new recommendation advising individuals between the ages of 50 and 80 — who either currently smoke or have a history of smoking — to undergo annual lung cancer screenings. These screenings specifically apply to those with a smoking history of 20 years or more, measured in pack years, which are calculated by multiplying the number of years smoked by the daily pack consumption.
However, as Micucci proves, it’s possible to get lung cancer without smoking — which means it’s also important to pay attention to any possible symptoms of lung cancer, even though there can be few. Those include:
recurring chest infections
a cough that doesn’t go away after two to three weeks, or gets worse
coughing up blood
pain while breathing
persistent breathlessness
persistent lack of energy
loss of appetite
unexplained weight loss
swollen fingers
If you are concerned about these symptoms, seek out your primary care doctor, who can screen you for any possible issues, including lung cancer.
