How you can get lung cancer without ever taking a puff

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, so you’ve probably already heard a whole bunch of public service announcements about getting screened and finding resources to help you quit if you smoke.

But what you’re not hearing about is the second leading cause of that deadly cancer — radon.

It’s an invisible, odorless gas that’s formed during the breakdown of radium. Although it occurs naturally, it’s so radioactive that one small-town paper calls it the “grim vapor of death.”

And as radon decays, it emits radioactive particles that build up indoors in homes, schools, and offices… and collect in your lungs when you breathe them in.

Radon becomes an even bigger hazard during fall and winter, when cooler temps have us closing windows and sealing up our homes to save energy costs!

So, now is the time to get your home tested to find out if it’s one of the millions all across America that has this deadly gas creeping in through cracks and crevices, walls and floors.

Clearing the air
You might recall that radon was considered the “new tobacco” a few decades ago… and we were being warned about it all the time. But just because the media has gone quiet on it doesn’t mean that it somehow went away.

Jill Johnson, a physically fit dance instructor, was stunned to learn that she had the disease when she was 54. “You could have knocked me over with a feather,” she said.

Marathon runners Leona Brown and Joe Linnertz, who hadn’t touched a cigarette for almost 30 years when he was given the diagnosis, were equally shocked.

In fact, most people don’t realize they’re in danger… until tragedy strikes.

For Mark Nielsen, it started last year, when the family dog Gizmo suddenly took ill. And after Gizmo died, Mark’s wife Lori also started having symptoms — leading to her being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Less than a year later, Lori died. And soon after, Mark learned that their home contained high levels of radon.

While he now does his best to educate people about the risk, Mark says that most of the folks he talks to have no idea what radon is… that is, until it’s too late.

And you might not, either — unless you’ve recently purchased a house and your home inspector asked if you wanted to add on a radon test! Even then, far too many homeowners skip this essential safety check.

While some parts of the country are more prone to have a problem with radon, experts caution that everyone should have their home tested. It’s even entirely possible that your neighbor’s house could be just fine, but your home could have radon levels that are off the charts.

But you won’t know unless you test for it!

And that’s easy enough to do. You can either buy a test kit for around $10 at most any home improvement store, or you can hire an expert.

Remember, however, that during the test you don’t want to open windows or doors or start ventilating your home (which is why winter is the perfect time to do this).

Your goal should be to get the number down as low as possible — at a minimum below 2 pCi/L (or “picocuries” per liter of air, which is how radon is measured).

For example, if you have a reading of 4 pCi/L, that means you’re being exposed to 35 times what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says is allowable.

If you need to get radon levels down, you should hire a professional, who will use a variety of methods to clear your air, including ventilation techniques and sealing up areas where radon is seeping in.

It’s one of those genuine ounces of prevention that could end up saving you a ton of grief.

“Time to test your home for radon gas” Lesley Coates, November 13, 2017, Clearwater Times, clearwatertimes.com