A Brief Look at Lung Cancer

The topic that was picked for this Pathophysiology paper is lung cancer. This topic was picked because a lot of people in the United States smoke but why? When this most likely will happen. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States including both men and women. The American cancer society estimates 186,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year and more than 165,000 deaths are because of it. The biggest cause of Lung Cancer relating it too 85% of cases is tobacco smoke, because of the repeated exposure to the inhaled substance. And don’t forget about second hand smoke! (Ignatavicius- workman Medical surgical nursing book 7th edition) First this paper is going to tell what to assess for in a patient with lung cancer by asking questions about history and by physically looking at the patient, the abnormal laboratory values and physical findings that go along with it.

The etiology of the disease, treatment, prognosis, prevention methods, and then draw the paper to a conclusion. One of the very first and most important questions to ask would be there smoking history, because smoking being the big cause of lung cancer ask questions like “when did you start smoking?”, “how long have you smoked?”, and “how many packs a day do you smoke?”. There is a formula to go along with these questions to figure out the pack years of a patient it is how many packs a day they smoke times number of years smoking, this is to determine the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time. Ask about a patients hazards at their work place, and family history of lung cancer can play a big role also. (Ignatavicius- workman Medical surgical nursing book 7th edition)

Other causes of lung cancer are Radon with is a ra...

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...als at work and elsewhere can help. Certain occupations like mining, and farming expose people to fumes, radioactive dust, and other chemicals that may be harmful.

Diet is also a part of prevention of lung cancer antioxidants phytoestrogens found in whole grains, vegetables, and soy products may reduce risk. But there is no evidence that these foods would help protect against people that are already at a high risk. (www.m.webmd.com). And so now you have read about the assessment of a patient with lung cancer by asking questions about history and by physically looking at the patient trying to determine if they have lung cancer. The abnormal laboratory values and physical findings that go along with it, by using the imaging tests and other lab test. Etiology of the disease, treatment processes and people involved, prognosis, and prevention methods that can be used.