to feel really upset about Caroline ahern and lung cancer

[sarahhammer]

I'm horrified to hear people on the radio showing no sympathy for her, just because she smokes it does not make lung cancer self inflicted!

uh, yes it does, that's exactly what it means.

hers is genetically linked - she's already had retinal and bladder cancer

I think that is a bit harsh. It is still a horrible disease, no matter how you get it. She might have got it even if she had not smoked- like Roy Castle. YANBU

Sad to hear this, I absolutely love Caroline Aherne. I'm sickened by people whose first thought when hearing about a diagnosis like this is to wag their finger and sniff 'well it's their own fault'.

Fuck them.

It's a very sad situation, self inflicted or not.

My mum died of lung cancer, she was a non smoker, never so much as had a puff of a cigarette. Lung cancer is very common amongst women, it is not just smokers disease.

90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking.

What squoosh said.

Yanbu, people should be sympathetic to Caroline Aherne as she's also had these other cancers, in general, I hate the lack of sympathy shown to people with addictions like smoking/drinking etc. there is a person involved who's made some bad choices and is paying the price, we all make bad choices, some cause cancer and some have more indirect effects. Can't stand sanctimony. Yes, it's awful when people have terrible bad luck and have lived perfect lives, doesn't mean people who've made bad choices deserve no support or sympathy.

The 'it's their own fault' lot always look for reasons when something like illness or accidents or crime happens. If they find a way to blame the person who is suffering then it means it can never happen to them because they never do , the truth is it could happen to anyone

Stanley - I thought Roy Castle's lung cancer was attributed to him working in smokey environments for a large part of his career? So still a factor.

And what Betty said. ( Betty - I lost my mum the same way)

As one article eloquently stated, "we don't assume that colon cancer sufferers regularly participated in anal sex, we acknowledge it as a horrible disease'.

It's realistic to feel hugely sympathetic AND recognise the well known causal link between smoking and cancer.

I actually think they need to be completely separated in the reaction. When someone gets cancer it's awful, self inflicted or not (and I imagine it is a bit hard to know exactly). If someone has a motorbike crash it is dreadful, even if it was their choice to ride a motorbike. When my dd falls over because she was running, it is no time to say, well you shouldn't have been running whilst her leg is all cut up.

Yes, we need to educate people on the consequences of their choices. And, at another time, I will talk to dd about running and that it can lead to her getting hurt. But I will not withhold sympathy if something awful happens.

if she has bladder cancer in the past, is this not likey to be a secondary cancer? Therefore it spread from the original source and developed in her lungs rather than being primary source lung cancer. If it is secondary to the original bladder cancer then it is not caused by smoking and it is just a concidence that it returned in her lungs. It si just as likely to return in the lungs of non cmokers once the cells are in your body.

"As one article eloquently stated, "we don't assume that colon cancer sufferers regularly participated in anal sex, we acknowledge it as a horrible disease'. "

But anal sex isn't a risk factor for colon cancer

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-colon-rectum-or-bowel/Pages/Causes.aspx

OTOH 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking.

If someone has lung cancer it is almost certainly a result of smoking.

Jesus, some of you people need to take a good long hard look at yourselves while you google the definition of 'compassion'. Sometimes this site makes me feel SO upset.

If you'd actually bothered to do some basic research, you'd find that it is possible to get lung cancer without smoking. My grandfather died of it. He never smoked. It happens. Exposure to other carcinogens and genetic factors play a role.

Now, even with smokers like Caroline Aherne, to get lung cancer from smoking at 50 is fairly young - mutations from exposure to carcinogens tend to take some time to turn into full-blown cancer, because several genes have to 'go wrong'. There is likely to be a genetic factor at work at 50. Or maybe it's a secondary tumour. Who knows, because we don't have access to her records and to the facts.

What we do know is that lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. That poor woman. Have a heart, people.

If someone has lung cancer it is almost certainly a result of smoking

So does that make it less sad then?

My mum was the 1 on 10 who was not a smoker......it's a horrid illness and I feel for anyone who is unfortunate enough to have it.

Seeing my mum die of it, personally I fail to understand why anyone in this day and age would smoke and increase their chances of getting this dreadful illness but I don't feel any less sympathy for someone who smokes than a non smoker. If I am totally honest I do feel cheated that my non smoking mum got lung cancer but I think that's natural.

Like another poster pointed out - lots of actions can have bad consequences but we can still feel compassion and sympathy whatever the circumstances surely.

Cancer seems to have blighted her family's life, both she and her brother were both born with cancer of the retina, in fact she chose never to have children to avoid passing the disease on to them.

Also, she's a comic genius! I wish her well in her fight.

Even if it was a secondary from Bladder cancer, there is still a very strong link between smoking and developing bladder cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for many cancers not just lung cancer, but lung and cancers of the head and neck are the most common. It is very sad and I hope she manages to beat it, treatment is fortunately getting better all the time.

Yes, my friend also died of lung cancer when she'd never touched a cigarette. In fact, she was so healthy, she wouldn't even use a microwave. It is not our position to judge.

I don't see where people have a lack of compassion, I was just pointing out from the OP that lung cancer usually is, in fact, self inflicted. That doesn't make it any less sad, it's just reality, and it is helpful for people who haven't developed lung cancer to acknowledge it.

Mrs Merton was so funny
I'd have liked her to be in Gavin & Stacey somewhere too.

she is a comedy genius and I wish her well.

OH and YANBU OP. Very sad. She is one of the best comic writers around and a great inspiration to other women in the comedy world.

That's terrible news. I love Caroline Ahern, a really brilliant comedian/writer/actor. I hope she gets well soon.