What are the chances of getting lung cancer after 30 years of being smoke free?

My father is 80 and has not smoked for 30 years. He was just diagnosed with Small Cell lung cancer and will be undergoing an aggressive chemo/radiation therapy. Can an individual get lung cancer after not smoking for 30 years or do you think there is another variable causing the cancer?

My friend just went through this with his mom. She was diagosed with small cell lung cancer after quitting smoking for 18 years. The doctors explained that just because you quit smoking does not mean you will never get cancer. It still can happen! Source(s): So sorry to hear about your dad. Best of luck to him!!!

of course they can, but after 30 year the risk is almost the same as that of a non-smoker so his cancer is likely to be from second hand smoke of someone else or from other causes.
good luck to your father.
At 5 years smokefree, the lung cancer rate for average smoker (one pack a day) decreases by almost half.
At 10 years lung cancer death rate smilar to that of non smokers.
(from source)

I am terribly sorry to hear this; it must seem so unfair.
But you must understand there are many people who get lung cancer who do not smoke, or never did, sometimes I think people are just predisposed to it, or it is environmental, I suppose...

.If you really want to though, you can always ask for a second opinion.

All the best to you and your father.
www.quitsmokingsupport.com/ben...
First of all, I'm sorry your Father has to go through this.
I am an ex-smoker, and this is my understanding of the chances of still getting lung cancer. Smoking causes a gene mutation which allows the lung cancer. Problem is, the mutation can occur with the first cigarette smoked,or the last cigarette, or any of them in between, or not at all. When, (if at all) it occurs is different for each individual. So, the way I see it is, it's basically a crap shoot. As far as other variables, I am positive that is a possibility. Hope this helped.
There are a number of variables that cause lung cancer. The hazards that I can think of at the moment are occupational hazards, diet and environmental hazards (including smoking).
Actuaries tell you that after 5 years of not smoking, it is the same as if you haven't smoked. I don't know if that is true in all cases.