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| | Title: | What is Lung Cancer? | | Article: | What is Lung Cancer?
Cancer is a disease where abnormal cells divide and
produce more abnormal cells, which loose any control.
Normally, cells divide and make more cells under
strict control. Genetically damaged cells become
weird. They grow without control, making masses. This
extra mass of cells becomes a tumor. Benign tumors are
not cancerous. Malignant, tumors are cancerous.
Malignant tumors that originated in the lungs tissue
are named lung cancer. There are two types of lung
cancers - small cell and non-small cell lung cancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer happens more often than
small cell lung cancer. However, small cell lung
cancer (looking like oat under microscope) grows
faster and spread in the body more often. Metastatic
lung cancer is the cancer that has spread from the
lung to another part of the body. Spreading tumors go
first to the lymph nodes and another lung in the
chest. Later it goes to bones, liver and brain.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among
cancers.
Smoking was found to be the leading cause of lung
cancers.
It was supposed that even smokeless tobacco or
second-hand tobacco exposure leads to the lung cancer.
Secondhand smoke is when non-smoker breathes the air
with smoke
Before wide spread of cigarette smoking, doctors
rarely saw patients with lung cancer.
Stopping cigarette smoking significantly reduces risk
of lung cancer.
Even cigar and pipe smokers who do not inhale smoke
have increased risk for lung, mouth, throat, and
bladder and stomach cancer.
The more a smoker smokes cigarettes, pipes, or cigars
a day, the longer he smokes, the earlier he began to
smoke, the more is the risk of lung cancer.
Smoking also leads to heart diseases, stroke, other
lung diseases, and respiratory infections.
Miners, who are exposed to radon, are also at risk for
lung cancer. This radioactive gas that occurs
naturally may be found even in regular homes. Special
kits help to measure radon levels.
Asbestos is also involved in lung cancer development.
However, hallmark of asbestos exposure is mesothelioma
– a malignant tumor of lungs lining. Shipbuilder,
spaceship builders, insulation workers, miners, brake
repairmen are at risk. Inhaled asbestos goes to the
lungs. The damage is significantly increased by the
fact that cleaning cells, macrophages, try to uptake
and digest asbestos and silica particles, but can not
do it easily and die, releasing a lot of cytokines and
increasing the inflammation. If you work with
asbestos, use protective equipment.
Lung cancer symptoms
Early lung cancer has no symptoms. Growing, it causes
signs and symptoms:
Cough that gets worse over time
Blood in sputum
Breath shortness
Fatigue
Wheezing
Chest pain
Hoarseness
Repeating pneumonia or bronchitis
Neck or face swelling
Appetite decrease
Weight loss
Unfortunately, most cancers in early, most curable
stages give no symptoms.
Also, the listed symptoms may come from lung cancer as
well as form other disease. You need to check with
your doctor. Don wait until pain comes. Early cancer
rarely causes pain.
It is sometime accidental finding after seeing patient
for another reason. To find out if you have lung
cancer, your doctor will ask your medical history,
smoking history, environmental and occupational
history, and history of cancer in your family. After
getting physical exam you may need a chest x-ray.
Doctor may suspect that you have lung cancer by seeing
a chest x-ray.
Imaging methods include a computed tomography scan
(CT), spiral CT scan or a PET (positron emission
tomography).
Sputum cytology may help to find suspected lung
cancer. In this test a pathologist doctor examines a
sample of mucus under microscope.
To confirm the presence of cancer, a sample of tissue
from the lung is needed. Biopsy is the removal of a
small sample of tissue or fluid. Pathologist looks at
the sample under a microscope.
During bronchoscopy, a doctor puts thin fiberoptic
tube (bronchoscope) into the lung airways. He can take
a small sample of tissue. During thoracentesis, the
doctor removes a sample of the fluids around the lungs
with a needle. During needle aspiration, the doctor
inserts a thin needle into the tumor and takes the
sample. Thoracotomy is the surgical way to get
samples.
How to treat lung cancer?
Early treatment gives better outcomes.
An oncologist, a surgeon, a radiation oncologist and
your primary doctor will do the job.
To treat lung cancer, doctor need to stage the disease
and determine how far the cancer progressed.
The stage determines the plan treatment. Small cell
lung cancer has two stages: limited in the chest and
extensive outside the chest.
Non-small cell lung has four stages. Stage I and II
and some stage III tumors allow surgery.
Stage IV means spreading to bone, brain, liver or
other site. Stage IV has limited options for
treatment. Small cell lung cancer grows faster, but
is more responsive to chemotherapy.
Clinical trials test new treatments.
Doctors use many different combinations of treatments.
Surgery removes a small part of the affected lung, or
the entire lung.
Chemotherapy controls cancer through anti-cancer
drugs. The drugs are injected through a catheter or
given by mouth.
Radiation therapy kills cancer in the area of
radiation. Radiation can be combined with surgery.
Laser therapy kills cancer cells during surgeries.
Cryosurgery freezes cancer and may be combined with
radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Small cell lung cancer quickly spreads all over the
body. In order to kill cancer chemotherapy almost
always required. Radiation therapy of other parts of
the body may be used too.
Sometimes radiation therapy to the brain is done,
though no metastases are found. This radiation
prevents tumors from appearing in the brain.
_______________________________________________ | | Author: | Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD | | System: | Lungs | | Subject: | Cancer | | Abstract: | Malignant tumors that originated in the lungs tissue
are named lung cancer. | | Website: | www.kavokin.com | | Time: | 13:44 | | Reference: | www.rdoctor.com | | Reference 2: | |
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©2006 Kavokin.com
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