Can you get lung cancer twice?

Answer 1

The short answer is yes. The long answer depends somewhat on what you mean by "twice". Cancers can relapse, meaning the original disease returns. This usually happens because microscopic "islands" of cells from the original neoplasm (tumor) were missed during removal procedures. Sometimes this is due to error, but usually it is due to the bloodstream carrying neoplastic cells to other parts of the body. If these cells stop in a cytologically compatible place (a place with similar cells in a biological sense) they can grow there. This is called metastasis and has a poor prognosis. The most compatible place for neoplastic cells to grow is elsewhere in the lung, or in the other lung.

One can also develop an unrelated lung cancer - either the same kind or a different kind. This is a very rare occurrence, made more probable by those exposed to risk factors for cancer, such as exposure to smoke (from smoking or other sources) or fine particulates of certain sorts (asbestos, for example).