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What You Need To Know About Lung Cancer. |
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by:Michael Sanford |
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don’t function right,
divide very fast and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. A
leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women is probably lung
cancer. This is the number one cause of cancer deaths surpassing breast
cancer as the leading cause of deaths in women. Cancers that begin in
the lungs are divided into two major types, the non-small cell lung
cancer and small cell lung cancer depending on how the cells look under
a microscope.
Cigarette smoking is known to be a cause of lung cancer. The risk of
developing the disease increases with the number of cigarettes smoked
particularly if the person starts to smoke at a young age. The person’s
risk of developing lung cancer may be reduced slightly if you smoke
filtered and low tar cigarettes, but it is still far greater than that
of a non-smoker. Lung cancer has always been more common in men,
particularly those over the age of 40, as more men used to smoke than
women. Considerably, there are a growing number of women having lung
cancer since women have started smoking. About 90% of all lung cancer
deaths among women are from smoking. The risk of lung cancer goes down
quite quickly if the person stops smoking and after about fifteen
years, the person’s chances of developing the disease are similar to
that of a non-smoker. Passive smoking or the breathing in other
people’s cigarette smoke, slightly increases the risk for lung disease
and lung cancer, although the risk is still much less that if you smoke
yourself.
Usually, the symptoms of lung cancer do not appear until the disease is
in an advanced stage. Some are diagnosed early because they are found
as a result of tests for other medical conditions. Screening
examinations are done to detect a disease in people without symptoms of
the disease. And since lung cancer usually spreads beyond the lungs
before causing any symptoms, an effective screening program to detect
the cancer early could save many lives. So far there is not screening
test that has been shown to prevent the ill person from dying of the
cancer. It has been concluded that the tests could not find many lung
cancers early enough to improve a person’s chances for a cure. Because
of this, lung cancer screening is not a routine practice for the
general public or even for people at increased risk like smokers.
Symptoms of lung cancer could be continuing cough or change in a
long-standing cough; a chest infection that does not get better;
increasing breathlessness; coughing up blood-stained phlegm; a dull
ache or a sharp pain when coughing or taking a deep breath; and loss of
appetite and loss of weight. If you think you are having any of these
above stated symptoms, then it is important to have your condition
checked by your doctor even if you know that any of these symptoms may
be caused by illness other than cancer.
Treatment for lung cancer could be through surgery, radiotherapy and
chemotherapy which may be used separately or together depending on what
your physician requires you to undergo with. Basically, the doctor will
plan your treatment, taking into account your general health condition,
the type of lung cancer you have and the size of the tumor as well as
its stage. There are differences in the treatment for different people
depending on their needs. You should not be afraid to ask your doctor
and it often helps making a lot of queries about the disease and your
condition from your doctor.
About the author:
For more information about lung cancer please goto http://www.cancer-resource-center.com/
Circulated by Article Emporium
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