Tell me about it. I knew 2 women who died of lung cancer 10 and 15 years after they quit smoking. The 15 year one was my neighbor who died within a month after being diagnosed and she was only in her 50s. I felt really bad because trying to cheer her up I was telling her getting cancer isn’t the same as it was 20 years ago and that she would pull through it which was total BS on my part.
If you were genuinely trying to cheer her up, I don't think you had anything to feel bad about. Getting cancer now IS different than getting it 20 years ago in terms of treatment options. That's no BS.
Unfortunately with lung cancer, it is often diagnosed too late to do much with it. By the time it's detected, it's often Stage 3 or 4, and has metastasized in other places throughout the body.
It wasn't BS because it's very true but it's also true some are diagnosed too late or still beyond the reach even modern treatment. Too often there are terminal cases can only be delayed.