While I don't doubt how real that statistic is, it's a great example of how you can make numbers represent anything really. 1 out of 2 chance.....by what age? If it's 1 out of 2 by age 30, that's REALLY fucking concerning.....but 1 out of 2 by age 60 is much less worrying, as is by age 70....80....so on.
Also I'd fully expect someone in New York city or LA to have a much higher chance of developing respiratory system cancers than someone living up in the Rockies thanks to the pollution faced by the former. If both locations are included under the general coverage of "Americans", then data is even more inaccurate. Might be a 1 in 10 chance for the person in the Rockies, whereas it's a 2 in 3 chance for the person in NYC/LA...so depending on population numbers, we can reach our "1 in 2" chance by averaging across completely different locations.
I'll shut up now lol