A mother and her two sons all develop lu.ng can.cer even though no one in the family smokes — The unexpected cause

After the mother passed away from lung cancer, her two sons, out of concern, went for medical check-ups and were both diagnosed with the same disease.

A family in Taiwan (China) faced tragedy when the mother died of lung cancer. Out of worry, the eldest son proactively went for an examination, and the unexpected result showed that he also had lung cancer. Fortunately, it was in the early stage, so surgery produced a good outcome.

Seeing that his younger brother had only a mild cough lasting for a month, he advised him to get checked as well. CT results revealed multiple suspicious metastatic lesions in the younger brother’s lungs. Further tests confirmed stage IV lung cancer—even though he appeared healthy, had good physical fitness, avoided alcohol and cigarettes, and regularly ran marathons.

Dr. Su Yifeng, a respiratory specialist at Taipei City United Hospital (Taiwan, China), said he had treated many similar cases in which, when one person in a family is diagnosed, others are also found to have lung abnormalities—though usually at an early stage. In this case, however, it was particularly unfortunate because the patient was young, physically active, but diagnosed late.

Lung cancer is a “silent killer”; most patients only discover it at a late stage when symptoms appear. He emphasized that 60% of lung-cancer patients in Taiwan (China) are non-smokers. Many are shocked when diagnosed because they neither smoke nor drink alcohol. However, according to Dr. Su, cooking fumes, air pollution, PM2.5 fine dust, and living near major roads are all risk factors.

The fact that all three family members developed the disease strongly suggests a genetic component, after ruling out smoking, pollution, and kitchen fumes.

Dr. Su also mentioned the case of a 26-year-old male singer in Taiwan (China) who was publicly diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. His mother had also died from the disease. Although heredity was likely involved, he noted that environmental pollution—ranging from industrial emissions to charcoal-burning stoves—has significantly increased the incidence of lung cancer, not to mention widespread exposure to secondhand smoke.

Hidden risk factors inside the home

The doctor pointed out commonly overlooked sources of danger:

• Office printers emit large amounts of ultrafine carbon particles.

• Household heating devices such as air fryers and ovens generate PM2.5.

• A study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that using household cleaning products can damage the lungs equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

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Dr. Su’s recommendations:

• People with a family history of lung cancer should begin screening 10 years earlier than the age at which their relatives were diagnosed.

• Many patients are now diagnosed as early as their 30s and 40s; therefore, low-dose CT (LDCT) scans during routine health check-ups are highly beneficial.

• If a low-dose CT scan shows no abnormalities or nodules, the next 3–5 years are generally considered safe before another scan is needed.