Don’t underestimate cancer risk from radon gas
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- Bill Johnson gets his blood tested at the doctor’s office.
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- Bill Johnson poses for a photo with his dog.
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- Dr. Wallace Akerley
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- Bill Johnson
Bill Johnson headed to his doctor’s office after experiencing searing pain shooting through his back while shoveling snow.
An X-ray didn’t show anything suspicious, so Johnson was sent home with a prescription for physical therapy.
It didn’t help. Instead, he said, his back completely gave out on him.
“I was rushed to the hospital and they did a CT and MRI scan,” said the 43 year-old Utah resident. “That’s when they found lung cancer in my right side, but it had metastasized up my spine, into my brain and down into my hip as well.”
Johnson said he was shell shocked. He didn’t smoke and was an avid runner, skier and mountain biker.
“I couldn’t understand how this could have happened,” he said. “But three months after being in the hospital, we decided to get a radon monitor and there were really high levels in my home office where I had been working for 14 years. When we first moved into our house we had it tested and it didn’t show any radon, but this time the numbers were really high and that’s what we assume caused the cancer.”
Dr. Wallace Akerley, director of thoracic oncology at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, who specializes in treating lung cancer, said radon is an invisible radioactive gas that has no taste or smell. He said high levels of radon are found in about one in three Utah homes.
“It’s a breakdown product of uranium and can seep into your home without you even knowing,” he said.
Uranium is found in all rocks and soil and can even be found in water. When it escapes from the ground into the air, it decays and produces additional radioactive particles, according to The American Lung Association.
“The fix is simple,” Akerley said. “You can prevent it by testing your home for radon and then having it removed from your home by a professional. It costs about $2,000 to get it fixed, but it’s typically a one-time fix. It’s worth the money because you’re not just protecting yourself, you’re protecting your family and other loved ones. You can do all the exercise in the world and eat the right diet, but if you have radon in your home, it can have devastating consequences.”
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). Johnson said most homes have around 4pCi/L. His home had between 10 and 20, depending on the day.
Akerley said while smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, radon exposure is next in line causing around 21,000 deaths each year in the U.S. and an estimated 200-300 Utahns. Second-hand smoke follows in third place.
“The symptoms are pretty vague,” he said. “You often have a cough, but if you start to experience unintended weight loss and bone pain you should be talking to your doctor. The number one cause of cancer death is lung cancer. It’s common but it’s also difficult to treat.”
There have been huge breakthroughs in treatments, however. Doctors can now test to see which gene is broken and also identify how it got around the immune system. Targeted therapy, along with immunotherapy are now added treatment options to chemotherapy.
“My No. 1 piece of advice for people is not to smoke and if you do smoke, find a way to quit,” Akerley said. “If you smoke, your risk is 30 times that of the average person. If you quit, within a couple of years, it drops to two times the risk, which is much much lower.”
In addition, Akerley said everyone should have their home tested for radon.
“Get it done so you can get it fixed if you have it and get some peace of mind,” he said.
Johnson agrees.
“Understanding the risk of radon is so crucial and the easiest way to screen for it is to simply have your home tested,” he said. “Or you can buy a monitor that will track it all of the time. I’m really lucky I’m alive. I almost died because of it.”
