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What is Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in both women and men. Smoking tobacco, or inhaling chemical compounds like asbestos, diesel exhaust and radon can trigger lung cancer. Other risk factors include the possibility of having a cancer history, having an extended family history of lung cancer and having received chest radiation therapy in the past.

Signs and symptoms

Many people with lung cancer have no symptoms. They are diagnosed by chance when their physician examines them for another reason, or they find out through an imaging test, such as an X-ray taken of the chest or CT scan for another condition.

Coughing is the most well-known sign of lung cancer. The symptoms can be caused by non-cancerous illnesses but it's essential to be checked because it could indicate that the cancer is advancing and taking up more space in the lungs.

Other signs include a continual hoarseness and weight loss. Weight loss can be caused by a range of other ailments. However it is essential to be able to have any unusual weight gain assessed.

People with lung cancer may have pain in their back or ribs. Other patients may experience nausea and extreme fatigue. These symptoms can be related to the type of lung cancer and where it has developed. Adenocarcinoma, for instance, can grow in the outer parts of the lungs and cause back pain. Squamous cell cancer is on the other hand grows in the middle lung and can cause pain near the chest. Bone pain may also be caused by cancer that has spread into the bones, in particular the ribs and spine.

If the cancer is confined to one lung, surgery or radiation may be an alternative. If it has been spreading, chemotherapy is generally used.

Diagnosis

Cancer cells are able to grow out of control they spread to surrounding tissues and preventing organs they line from functioning normally. The signs of advanced lung cancer may include bloody coughing (hemoptysis), or breathlessness.

Lung cancer can occur in the large airways (bronchi and alveoli) of your lungs. It can also develop in the smaller air sacs (alveoli) or the pleura, thin membrane that covers each lung and covering the chest wall. Your doctor will typically diagnose lung cancer by performing a physical exam and taking a stethoscope to listen to your lungs an stethoscope, and asking about your smoking history.

Other tests include the CT scan or chest X ray, which utilizes a scanner to capture several pictures of your lungs. Other tests include a lung function test (spirometry) which evaluates the health of your lungs, and blood tests to determine the health of your liver and kidneys.

The doctor may also collect an in-depth sample of the fluid that surrounds your lungs (pleural effusion) to determine if it's cancerous. With an endoscope fitted with a sensor for ultrasound (endobronchial ultrasonography, also known as EBUS), doctors can also take samples of lymph nodes around your bronchi and trachea. Doctors can also utilize mediastinoscopy to study the space between your lungs, called the mediastinum. They can also remove a tissue sample for diagnosis.

If you are suffering from cancer that has taken hold of your brain Then an MRI scan could help your doctor see it. A needle biopsy is a different method to collect a sample of your tissue. This involves numbing your skin with a local numbing agent and inserting needles into the suspected tumour. The needle will then take out cells for testing in a lab.

Treatment

A thorough analysis of cancerous cells in a lab can help your doctor lung cancer determine the type of lung cancer that you have. This can help your doctor decide on the best treatment options for you.

Adenocarcinoma (NSCLC) and Squamous cells are the two most commonly encountered kinds of non-small cell lung cancer. These tumors are typically caused by smoking, and they begin in the glandular tissue that lines the lungs. Adenocarcinoma is more likely than other types of NSCLC to be discovered early and treatable.

To treat NSCLC The doctor treating you might recommend chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is a therapy that employs drugs to stop cancer cells from dividing, or kill them. If taken by mouth or injected into a vein, the drug gets into the bloodstream and may reach cancer cells throughout the body. When it is injected directly into an organ or a specific site it targets only cancer cells within that region (regional chemotherapy).

Surgery is a method of removing any small tumor, or even a portion of a lung with large tumor. Your doctor might suggest a wedge resection or segment resection, and an sleeve-lobectomy. When you undergo these procedures, your surgeon will also remove lymph nodes located in your chest. These are tiny organs that resemble beans that connect lymph vessels. Your doctor will examine the lymph nodes with microscope to determine if any cancer has been transferred from the lung to other parts of your body.

Prevention

Cancer can affect any body part however, lung cancer usually results from smoking cigarettes or exposure to secondhand smoking tobacco. It can also develop from cancer that begins in other areas of the body before spreading to the lungs.

Smoking can increase your risk of developing lung cancer, especially if it's a long time since you smoked or if you smoke heavily. If you have a family history of lung cancer, smoking habit can also increase your risk. You can lower your risk by not starting to smoke and by quitting smoking. You can also reduce your risk by keeping away from secondhand smoke and other toxic substances like asbestos, arsenic, as well as the radioactive gas called radon.

Other factors that can increase your risk of getting lung cancer include having a history of lung infection, having a condition known as fibrosis that causes abnormalities in the cells that line your lungs, having received radiation treatments to your chest and having an inherited predisposition.

There are ways to reduce your risk for lung cancer and Lung Cancer other ailments like high blood pressure and heart disease. Maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise and eating a balanced and healthy diet with plenty of fruit and veggies are all important. You can also limit your exposure to toxic chemicals by working in a clean environment that is free of dust, mold, and chemicals. Avoid x-rays or other imaging tests until the doctor recommends that you do so.