How do I find out what type of lung cancer killed my mother? I don't
have her death cert. , but I'm pretty sure cause of death is listed
just as lung cancer or a complication of chemo.  Her name was Mattie
Lee Wolff and she died in Mohave County, Arizonza in May 1996. I have lung
cancer now, too and Dr. Skokane said it would be helpful if I knew
what type of cancer she had.  Thanks for your help.

Hi Judy,
Your fundamental question seems to be one of genetics.  So it may be
most efficient  to just have your doctor refer you to a genotyping
service to find out exactly what you may have inherited from your
mother.  Such testing is not necessarily predictive, but it can give
you an idea of say, your inherited ability to metabolize
procarcinogens derived from cigarette smoke, etc..  Another advantage
is that you can go ahead and get tested for other concerns that you
may have, like breast cancer and such.

From the molecular genetic perspective, lung cancers can be divided
into two clinical subgroups: small cell carcinoma and non-small cell
carcinoma.  The dominant genes that are frequently involved in lung
cancer include c-MYC, K-RAS, EGFR and HER-2/neu.  The commonly deleted
or inactivated tumor suppressor genes include p53, RB, p16.  Please
forgive the acronym overload, but your doctor should be able to
decipher the garble.

My resources include Pathologic Basis of Disease, by Kumar, Abbas and
Fausto.  Also Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th
Edition, by Kasper, et. al.

I hope this helps you and good luck with your quest!

I believe this will help give you a more complete picture on how
manage your lifestyle and healthcare.