Lung Cancer Types and Stages of Development

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Cancer has caused a total of 7.6 million deaths annually, or about 13% of deaths worldwide. Lung cancer being the most common type, accounts for 1.37 million of those deaths. But what are the leading factors that cause this type of cancer and what can be done to prevent the increasing number of deaths? Lung Cancer can be defined as an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in either one or both lungs of an organism. These abnormal cells divide and multiply to create unhealthy tissue or tumors inside of the lungs. These tumors interfere with the lungs ability to deliver oxygen to the body. Though lung cancer can originate inside of the lungs, it can also originate in other parts of the body. When the cancer begins inside of the lungs it’s called Primary Lung Cancer, when the cancer begins in other parts of the body and spreads to the lungs this is called Secondary Lung Cancer. These two different origins of the cancer cause the treatments and symptoms to very in similarity, though Primary Lung Cancer is the main cause of lung cancer deaths worldwide. Lung Cancer can be divided additionally into types and stages of development to determine the severity of the disease, there are several types of lung cancer and four stages of development. The two major types of lung cancer include Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). According to the American Cancer Association, 85% of lung cancers are Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, while Small Cell Lung Cancer occurs less frequently with the remaining 15% of lung cancers. However, there are several subtypes of NSCLC. The most common include: Squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinoma, Adenocarcinoma, and Large cell carcinoma. The subtypes of NSCLC ... ... middle of paper ... ...cer Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. "Lung Cancer." Basics of Lung Cancer. Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Lung Cancer Fact Sheet - American Lung Association." American Lung Association. American Lung Association, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. "Lung Cancer." Lung Cancer. National Institute of Health, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. "Lung Cancer: Treatment & Care." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Lymph Node." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Radon and Cancer - National Cancer Institute." Radon and Cancer - National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Smoking." - National Cancer Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "What's Being Done to Protect People from the Hazards of Smoking?" What's Being Done to Protect People from the Hazards of Smoking? American Cancer Society, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

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