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As an oncologist, I can’t forget some of my patients’ stories. One of those belongs to a mother of two I diagnosed at age 35 with non-small cell lung cancer. She was a physician and a long-distance runner who had never smoked a day in her life. She died of metastatic lung cancer about two years after her diagnosis. 

Sadly, her story echoed that of another one of my patients, a 32-year-old emergency room nurse who never smoked and raised two teenage daughters. She was divorced and spent her days in my care desperately worried about what would happen to her daughters after she passed. Both women were medically considered “lucky” to survive long enough to see their children graduate high school, but they should have had decades left with their kids.

I will never know exactly what caused the lung cancer in these two particular women, but the number of people being diagnosed who have never smoked is rising, particularly in young women. And these diagnoses are deadly. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in America, responsible for about 125,000 deaths each year. Even with new, cutting-edge treatments, the five-year survival rate of patients with metastatic lung disease is only 6%.

Why do I mention these dismal statistics? Because after witnessing too many tragic deaths, I feel a deep responsibility to educate my community and policymakers about what contributes to lung cancer. And all too often, fossil fuel pollution is not on their minds, even though reducing that pollution is one of the strongest actions we could take to prevent future kids from growing up without their moms. 

Air pollution is a Class 1 carcinogen, as rated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The word carcinogen means “cancer causing,” and air pollution is responsible for about 14% of all lung cancer deaths. It can cause lung cancer even in people who have never smoked and can significantly affect the prognosis and treatment of other cancer patients.

One of those key pollutants is fine particulate matter, also called PM 2.5. That means the particles are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter or 20 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These microscopic particles primarily come from the burning of fossil fuels. 

That’s why I am deeply concerned that several Wisconsin utilities, including We Energies, WPS, Alliant Energy, and Madison Gas and Electric, recently delayed their plans to retire coal and are proposing new methane gas plants in Wisconsin. In the next few months alone, the Public Service Commission will determine the fate of $2 billion in new gas infrastructure proposals.

Switching from coal to gas is like seeing one of my patients switch from smoking to vaping. Billions have been spent to market vaping as a better, cleaner alternative. A ploy that is not only blatantly false when it comes to the heart health impacts, with vaping causing an outbreak of cardiovascular injuries, but it has dangerously hooked a new youth generation of smokers. 

Similarly, billions have been spent to market natural gas as safe. But make no mistake, just like coal pollution, gas plants kill people by emitting PM2.5 and a mix of other hazardous pollutants that are inhaled through the lungs. From there, those toxicants can enter the bloodstream, heart, brain, and even the placenta. Akin to hooking a new generation of smokers, building new and expensive gas plants locks us into decades of fossil fuel dependence. We can’t afford that when 99% of scientists agree that we must take rapid action to decrease fossil fuels to maintain a liveable climate. Meanwhile, our neighboring states investing in wind, solar and energy efficiency prove that a better way forward is possible and that path saves lives and creates jobs.

As I think back to my two patients who died too young from lung cancer, it’s clear that we must do more. We must reduce air pollution and address climate change by decreasing fossil fuels. We can’t let Wisconsin get left behind. We need to ensure that new gas plants, such as the Oak Creek Gas Plant and Paris Plant, are not built in Wisconsin. We must come together to prevent more needless deaths from lung cancer.