Brief Description: Lung cancer, as with all cancers, is an uncontrollable increase of cells. It happens within the lung tissue, but it could also go on to affect other nearby tissue and spread to further out than just the lungs.
Cellular / Molecular Basis: Lung cancer has two types; small cell and non small cell. The two types can be identified by their appearance when looked at with a microscope. It usually affects the cells that are lined along air passages in the lungs.
Causes: The foremost reason for lung cancer is cigarette smoking which causes around 90% of all deaths caused by lung cancer in the world. However, smoking is not the only way to get it. The second most frequent cause of lung cancer is exposure to radon gas, which is created by the decay of uranium. Exposure to asbestos can also result in lung cancer and various other lung diseases.
Signs and Symptoms: There is a range of symptoms for lung cancer, which are coughing frequently or coughing up blood, having difficulty swallowing, losing weight, a feeling of weakness or severe fatigue, pain felt within the ribcage, a swollen neck and face, shortness of breath, a croaky or gruff voice, pneumonia/ bronchitis and seizures or headaches. It can cause many complications, because the cancer could impede the patients airflow, therefore making it more difficult to breathe. Secretion could even build up behind the cancer, potentially prompting pneumonia. The cancer can also have an abundant supply of blood, and if broken, the cancer could bleed into the patients airway.
Detection: If lung cancer is suspected, CT scans and x-rays will take place to determine if the person has lung cancer. A healthy lung in an x-ray will be consistently dark, while a lung with lung ...
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Last Updated: 2012
Author Unspecified | Lung Cancer – What is Lung Cancer? | Antigenics | http://www.antigenics.com/diseases/lungcancer.html | Date Updated Unspecified
Jennifer Warner and reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD | New Way to Treat Lung Cancer: Study Shows Targeted Radiation Therapy may Help to Control Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Tumors | Web MD | http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20100316/new-way-to-treat-inoperable-lung-cancer | March 16 2010
MayoClinic Staff | Lung Cancer: Prevention | MayoClinic | http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lung-cancer/DS00038/DSECTION=prevention | November 10, 2011
Cris Barrish | Eight cancer clusters discovered in Delaware | Delaware Online | http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20080424/HEALTH/804240339/Eight-cancer-clusters-discovered-in-Delaware | 24 April 2012
Whether lung cancer is operable or not, may well depend upon the circumstances of the patient involved; however, where certain factors do not allow for this option, other treatments may well be offered. Many factors must be taken into consideration before any treatment or operation can take place, as either may have a prominent bearing on the prognosis of the cancer patient.
Although there is no early detection test for mesothelioma, there are several tests that can be used to help in making the diagnosis of mesothelioma, including a chest x-ray, a CT scan, or an MRI scan. A chest x-ray yields an image of the lungs that will show many types of abnormal changes. A CT scan is a type of x-ray, but it uses a computer rather than film to create detailed images. An MRI scan uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer but does not utilize radiation to create a clear image. These tests help your doctor differentiate mesothelioma from other lung tumors as well as determine where the tumor is and its size. Your doctor may need to remove a tissue sample from the tumor or draw fluid from it to confirm it to confirm the diagnosis.
Black lung disease can be diagnosed by checking a patient’s history for exposure to the coal dust, followed by a chest x-ray to see if the characteristic spots on the lungs are present. A pulmonary function test may help in the diagnosis. However, all coalminer’s should have chest x-rays every four years so the disease can be detected early.
In addition to being responsible for 87% of lung cancers, smoking is also associated with cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, uterine cervix, kidney, and bladder. Smoking accounts for at least 29% of all cancer deaths, is a major cause of heart disease, and is associated with conditions ranging from colds and gastric ulcers to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cerebrovascular disease. Women have a better chance in getting lung cancer then men do. This year the disease will kill 68,000 women in the United States, more than one and a half times as many as breast cancer. Even if a woman smoked for awhile and quit, her chances are much greater then a man that smoked 2 times longer then the woman did.
According to “Medical News Today” cancer is a disease that is caused by an over growth of anomalous cells on one or more lungs. Cells often go up the air pipes which can cause difficulty to breath. Due to the over production of cells the tissue cells often begin to over produce; which results in tumors. There are two types of tumors: malignant and benign. Malignant tumors are the more dangerous of the two due to its invasive nature; which makes it cancerous. While benign is not invasive in other words non-cancerous. This is why cancer spreads to multiple areas and can be sometimes very difficult to fight. Cancer cells are abnormal not only because of their evasive nature, but also because of its irregular life cycle. Rather than expire like a regular cell, they continuously grow and duplicate which causes the disease to spread. This makes cell abnormal in shape and other qualities; known as a sickle cell. Due to the large growth and reproduction rate of the cells this makes the spreading of the cancer more rapid. Each cancer has specific symptom, for lung cancer the sympto...
Diagnosed with lung cancer, now what!? Time to do some research. Lung cancer is the number one cause of deaths in males and females. The causes, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer have advanced recently with new technology available to scientists and the medical profession. Lung cancer develops when the cells grow abnormally and tumors form instead of healthy lung tissue. It can take place in one or both lungs, normally the cells that line the air passages. Not all tumors are cancerous, the ones that do not spread are benign tumors. The more tumors that develop in the lungs will cause the lungs to work less efficiently. The metastatic tumors spread to other parts of the body passing through the blood stream or lymphatic system.
Likewise, lung cancer affects people who have never smoked due to the presence of radon and household pollutants. Radon has contributed to 10% of all lung cancer deaths and is considered second to smoking. There is no way to predict who will get cancer, but inherited genetic risk factors make some people more vulnerable to carcinogenic exposures than others. Lung cancer starts whenever there is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal tissue cells that affect the normal function within the lungs. As these abnormal cells grow they form tumors which can block the oxygen exchange within the body. (Lungcancer.org, 2014).
Cancer of the lung was nearly nonexistent in the early 1900’s. By the middle of the 20th century an epidemic became apparent throughout the United States and the rest of the world. It is primarily correlated with the widespread abundance of cigarette smoking in the world. The tobacco industry has multiplied its production immediately prior to World War I. There was a typical 20 to 30 year lagging period between the initiation of cigarette smoking and the actual tumor formation in the lungs. Lung cancer is the cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. It occurs when cells in the lung start to grow rapidly in an uncontrolled manner. Lung cancer can start anywhere in the lungs and affect any part of the respiratory system. Most of all lung cancer cases start in the lining of the bronchi (health-cares.net, 2005). It is the leading cause of all cancer deaths in the world. During this time the tobacco companies would continue to say that cigarette smoking was not addictive and did not cause any type of cancer. Even with all evidence in the world today about tobacco causing cancer, Tobacco companies still remain the most profitable business in the world. Lung cancer is very common in both women and men. Women account for about 40 percent of the lung cancer cases in the world. Women who smoke are more than twice as likely to develop lung cancer as those of men who smoke (Tavor, 2005).
Smoking cigarettes is the causes to 90% of lung cancer patients in the U.S. There are about 7,000 different chemicals in cigarettes and most of them are poisonous. About 70 chemicals can definitely cause cancer in both animals and people. Secondhand smoke can also cause of lung cancer and about 7,300 people die every year. Radon also causes lung cancer. Radon is a gas that is found in rocks. In the United States about one out of 15 houses have high levels of radon. The food you eat can play a role in the chances of you developing lung cancer. Lung cancer can also be expected if your family has a history of it.
The leading cause of death in America is lung cancer. Lung cancer is ranked top 10 fatal cancers in the United States. There are many types of ways to get lung cancer. There is radon gas it occurs outdoors naturally. Then there is second hand smoke that comes from other people smoking. People are even getting lung cancer from cancer causing agents, this happens from carcinogens. You can also get it from air pollution indoors and outdoors. Also there are gene-mutations that form cancer causing cells. Then there is the one everyone blamed lung cancer is smoking.
As most of you know, smoking is bad for your health, but what some of you might not know is that you don’t actually have to smoke to be harmed by smoking. Lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women, is mainly caused by cigarette smoking. Secondhand smoking causes approximately 2 percent of lung cancer deaths each year. It causes respiratory disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), middle ear disease, and asthma attacks in children.
Cancer is defined as where the abnormal cells are divided without any control and they are able to invade into tissues. At times cancer can be cured right away once it is detected through treatments that the doctor recommends, but at times cancer cannot be cured based on what stage the cancer is at. It is very important that every individual gets a physical check up to see if they are diagnosed or detected with any sort of cancer or disease. There are 100 types of cancers out there, but the type of cancer that I will be focusing on is Lung cancer. One of the controversial issues on a lung cancer is the ...
Cancer firstly begins in the body cells, because all body parts are composed of cells. Each minute, several billion of this cells die and are replaced by new ones. However if this orderly process is disrupted and cells begin to grow out of control they form execs tissue known as a tumor. We know benign tumors, which are not cancer tumors and are not usually life threatening and malignant tumors which are cancer tumors. Benign tumors are not cancer tumors and they are usually not life threatening. Malignant tumors are cancer tumors. With time cancer cells break off and spread through the blood or lymphatic system to form new tumors in other parts of the body. Metastasis is a process where cancer spreads from the original tumor to other parts of the body. Cancer’s ability to spread to other body parts makes the disease extremely difficult to treat unless it is detected early.
This represents 4.0% of all male 1.8% of female hospitalisations respectively. The epidemiologic evidence and the corresponding biological understanding of respiratory cancer have supported the conclusion that smoking causes lung cancer. It is well documented that cigarette smoke: · is the major cause of lung cancer (primary carcinoma of the lung). · is a cause of heart disease, chronic lung disease, and oesophageal cancer.
Approximately one in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age. The most common of the diseases caused by smoking is cancer, of course. Not only is it a cause of lung cancer, but cancer of the larynx, and the esophagus, and it contributes to the development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, and kidney. Lung cancer comes from the tar in the cigarettes.