Cancer Research Lab

A. The answer is yes. The stetson wearing, rugged face of Marlboro did in fact die of lung cancer, not just once, but twice.

Many men played the role of the Marlboro Man throughout the years and two of these men died of lung cancer.

The first Marlboro Man to die of lung cancer was Wayne McClaren in 1992. He appeared in ads for Marlboro in 1976. He spent many years after his lung cancer diagnosis promoting an anti-smoking campaign.

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Squamous cell cancer represents the leading number of lung cancers (approximately 40%-45%).

Small cell cancers account for 15%-20% of all lung cancer cases. This is because it spreads rapidly from its characteristically central location.

Large cell undifferentiated cancer is discovered in about 5%-10% of lung cancer cases.
Adenocarcinoma usually flares up in outlying areas of the lung and accounts for 25%-30% of all lung cancer cases. This type of cancer can occur in non-smokers.

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Our body is made up of millions of cells and these cells have different shape, structure and function depending on the organs. A cell is the functional unit of the body. These cells combine and form tissues and tissues combine and form organs.

The cells have a life span after which they die and new cells are born and replace the dead cells and thus maintaining the bodily functions in a coordinated manner.

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Remember – statistics are averages based on large numbers of patients. They cannot predict exactly what will happen to you. No two patients are exactly alike and response to treatment also varies from one person to another.

You should feel free to ask your doctor about your prognosis, but not even your doctor can tell you for sure what will happen. You may hear your doctor use the term ‘5 year survival’. It does not mean you will only live 5 years! It relates to the proportion of people in research studies who were still alive 5 years after diagnosis. Doctors follow what happens to people for 5 years after treatment in any research study. This is because, for many types of cancer, if it has not come back within 5 years, it is not likely to come back at all. Unfortunately, lung cancer can sometimes come back more than 5 years after it has been treated. But the figures are still based on the 5 year follow up.

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