On the radio side the cable doesn't have to be susceptible to getting hit by lighting since the radio itself is a big metal thing sticking up in the air. In many cases the cable from the AP down to the PoE injector is the most attractive path for lightning to reach the ground. You can make it less attractive but that often costs money or takes work (See the Motorola R56 Guidelines).

This also goes for ethernet between buildings. Surprisingly enough if the building is poorly grounded the best path can be over your ethernet to a different building.

The ethernet transformers don't really help. They are just another part to get melted off the circuit board if there's a close lightning strike.

Surge protectors pretty much exist as a sacrifice to protect your more expensive electronics (switches and routers).