Thirty-nine out of 81 lung cancer patients who underwent surgery to remove tumors in 2001 at the National Cancer Center have lived till now, the hospital said Wednesday.

Moreover, the hospital’s five-year survival rate marked 65 percent. Among them, two out of every three survivors were declared “healed.”

The hospital held an event to celebrate the triumph over the fatal disease with the survivors and their families at the Grand Hall in Ilsan, north of Seoul on Thursday.

“Lung cancer is hard to detect in the early stage because there are no distinctive symptoms. Therefore, many of the patients have already stepped into a serious stage when they visit the doctors. Surviving for five or 10 years is honorable,” said Han Ji-yeon, head of the lung cancer department of the center.

Lee Jin-su, chief of the NCC, held an anti-smoking campaign on the street to mark the event, too.

(baejisook@heraldcorp.com)