Lung Cancer
The type of cancer that develops in the lung is called as Lung cancer. The lungs are the two spongy organs present in the chest which are responsible for inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide.
The chances of getting lung cancer are higher in people who smoke; however, it can happen in people who have never smoked before. The duration of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked does increase the danger of lung cancer. The risk of developing lung cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking even after doing so for a while. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
Long term exposure to chemicals or other toxins can lead to occurrence of lung cancer.
Lung Cancer Symptoms
The signs and symptoms usually don’t appear in early stages. They typically appear in later stages, when the disease has progressed enough. These may include:
- Blood in cough
- Chest Pain
- Hoarseness
- Bone pain
- Headache
- Unintentional weight loss
- Shortness of breath
- Persistent Cough
- Recurring chest infections like bronchitis or pneumonia
- Loss of appetite
Lung Cancer Diagnosis:
The few diagnostic tests are recommended by the doctors to confirm the presence of cancer cells and to eliminate other illnesses. Imaging tests such as
- X-ray or CT scan,
- Sputum Cytology,
- Biopsy (collection of tissue sample) may be used for examination. Depending on the results, your physician may also perform bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy or needle biopsy.
Lung Cancer Treatment
The treatment of lung cancer is dependent on various factors like cancer stage, patient’s overall health and preferences.
If the cancer is limited to your lungs, then surgery might be a choice of treatment.
For the lung cancer that has an increased size, physicians may recommend chemotherapy or radiation therapy before surgery to decrease the size of cancer by shrinking it.
The use of chemotherapy or radiation therapy can be done post-surgery also to get rid of any remnants of cancer cells that can be present after surgery or that your cancer may recur.
Collaboration of medical specialists in many fields is necessary for the treatment of lung cancer. The specialists that are required are surgeons, pulmonologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonary therapists.