Lung Cancer - Symptoms and Treatment

The second most common type of cancer that affects people are the cancer of the lungs, even though breast cancer is rated higher than lung cancer the death due to lung cancer is far greater than deaths due to breast cancer.

What are the risk factors related to lung cancer?

The risk factors that are related to lung cancer are smoking being the major reason for the development of lung cancer apart from that exposure to asbestos and other industrial chemicals have also been reasons for the development of lung cancer.

What are the signs and symptoms of lung cancer?

Some of the most common symptoms related to lung cancer are persistent cough, chest pains, blood in the mucus, recurrent pneumonia, weight loss, fatigue etc.

How do doctors evaluate lung cancer?

After the initial tell tale signs the patient is subjected to x-rays of the chest for see if there are any lung nodules which indicate that there is a chance of developing lung cancer. If lung nodules are detected than a repeat x-ray is done after a period of about 30 days to see if the size of the nodules has increased. The sputum is sent for testing and this is called as sputum cytology where by the presence of cancerous cells are detected.

If lung nodules are detected then the x-ray undergoes bronchoscopy. This is a procedure where a lighted fiber optic like tube is passed through the throat into the lungs and passed through the lung passageway for any unwanted lesions. Biopsy is sent in for analysis.

What is the mode of treatment?

Treatment varies according to the extent of the tumor spread in the lungs and other parts of the body. Radiation therapy, surgical resection, chemotherapy are the recommended modes of treatment.

Radiation therapy helps control the spread of tumor and also shrinks the size of the tumor. Surgical resection is used to remove the affected part either partially or completely and surgery is only if the tumor is found in the lungs and this is also possible if it has not spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy is administered intravenously to destroy the cancer cells within the body and this also helps check the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body.

As in other cancer treatments chemotherapy also has its own share of side effects some permanent and some temporary. Temporary side effects wade off after the completion of the treatment cycle while the permanent side effects have shown to affect body organs like the kidney, brain etc.

Following a nutritious diet is recommended. The survival rate is not very high in case of lung cancer. Early diagnosis is difficult and can be evaluated only by x-ray.

How to prevent lung cancer?

Quit smoking as this is the main risk factor for developing lung cancer. Even passive smokers are at a risk of developing lung cancer, avoid smoking zone areas as the smoke in this area enters the lung and creates a block on the walls of the lungs thus increasing your chances of developing lung cancer.