CINCINNATI — When you think of someone getting lung cancer, the first thing that comes to mind is probably someone who smokes. But Ohio researchers recently discovered 19% of women with lung cancer have never smoked.
That was the case for Dr. Ambor Bends who has never smoked a day in her life. The mother of two and veterinarian has been lung cancer-free for a year now. Just last year, she visited her family care physician because she wasn’t feeling well.
“I had mentioned that I was short of breath and she’s a wonderful practitioner and she was listening to me and said this isn’t right for you,” Bends said.
The nurse practitioner ran several tests and a chest X-ray and found something abnormal in her lungs. It was brought up then that she might have lung cancer.
“I’m not a smoker and I had no family history,” Bends said. “I don’t have any other things that would make me seem like I should be someone that they are looking out for lung cancer.”
Her husband, Chris, has been by her side the whole way. And was just as surprised when a biopsy confirmed that she indeed had lung cancer. Last March, she underwent surgery to remove her upper left lung lobe.
“They were able to get me in so quickly that I don’t know if that I had a huge or a lot of time to process it because I just knew that I had to get it done,” she said.
While the Bends are still uncertain how Ambor developed lung cancer as a non-smoker, research by the University of Cincinnati found that 15 to 35% of non-smokers get lung cancer because of secondhand smoke.
Avoiding smoking and reducing secondhand smoke exposure is what doctors say are the best ways to prevent lung cancer.
“I had just gotten really, really lucky that I had people who were listening to me and people who were looking out for me and had I not had those people I might have been in a different situation today,” she said.
