St. Lawrence County is among the nine counties in New York with highest lung cancer rate, according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s report.

St. Lawrence County has a rate of approximately 88 cases of lung cancer per 100,000 people. The average across the state is about 64 cases per 100,000 people, the report shows.

Details can be viewed at http://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/map/map.withimage.php?36&001&047&00&0&01&0&1&6&0#results

The report shows the highest rates are largely in the northern portion of the state, but a few of the counties with high rates are also located in western and central New York.

Southern counties have substantially lower lung cancer rates, the report shows.

To help raise awareness St. Joseph’s Hospital, Syracuse and the Central New York Regional Center for Tobacco Health Systems are sharing cancer facts with the public. According to the groups November is national lung cancer awareness month.

“Throughout this month, let’s get together and raise awareness about this deadly disease of lung cancer and reduce the stigma associated with this disease, which affects both smokers and non-smokers. I have worked in this field for over ten years and smoking touches everyone’s life in one way or another,” a release from the groups says.

According to a report from the surgeon general, it takes more lives than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined and nearly 80 percent of those diagnosed will have never smoked or are former smokers.

The report says lung cancer takes the lives of three times as many men as prostate cancer and takes the lives of twice as many women as breast cancer.

Lung cancer patients have a 15 percent five year survival rate, according to the report.

According to the organizations, smoking is by far the biggest risk factor, causing 80-85 percent of lung cancer in the U.S.

They say the degree of risk increases with the number of years the person has smoked and how many cigarettes per day.

The 2010 Surgeon General’s report How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease states, “There is no risk-free level of tobacco smoke.”

Today, there are 7,357 chemicals in tobacco smoke, according to the Surgeon General’s report. Tobacco smoke causes changes in cells that can lead to cancer. In the lungs, these changes can lead to lung cancer. To reduce your risk, don’t start smoking.

“If you smoke, quit. Quitting smoking improves your life in many ways and we encourage current smokers to find the best way to quit. If you (or a loved one) have been diagnosed with lung cancer and smoke, continuing to smoke can, among other things, interfere with the way treatments work and make side effects much worse,” the release says.

There are medications and other forms of assistance available to support smokers who want to quit, such as the NYS Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS or www.nysmokefree.com.