Lung cancer is the most lethal of malignant diseases worldwide and is still the leading cause of cancer related deaths in the USA. Although the overall deaths in Western Europe and United Stated have decreased since 1991, global lung cancer rates are expected to rise because of ongoing tobacco use.

For the majority of the time lung cancer is clinically silent because they grow from a single malignant
cell to a potentially detectable lesion. The majority of people already have the symptoms of lung cancer at the time of diagnosis. In only about 10% of cases is lung cancer discovered incidentally in an asymptomatic patient.

One of the first symptoms of lung cancer is cough, which occurs in 45-75% of patients. Cancer types with a predilection for central airway involvement may cause cough earlier in their course. But peripherally located tumors may only cause cough as a late symptom. A change in the character of a chronic cough, such as new hemoptysis or co-existent chills and fever, should raise suspicion of an additional process such as lung cancer.

Tumor involvement of the chest wall, parietal pleura, and mediastinum leads to chest pain as an initial symptom or complaint in 25-50% of patients. Other causes of pain include postobstructive pneumonitis, pulmonary embolism, and rib cage metastases.

5-8% of lung cancer patients experience hoarseness which is usually attributable to unilateral left vocal
paralysis resulting from damage to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve anywhere along its intrathoracic course.

Physical exam is a vital component of the lung cancer evaluation as it may provide important prognostic, diagnostic, and staging clues. The outside appearance may look normal or it may reveal debilitation, cachexia, lethargy, pallor, jaundice, fever, or significant comorbidities. Blood pressure irregularities can be seen in conjunction with neurologic or adrenal paraneoplastic phenomena.

A thorough nervous system examination is crucial, especially in patients with headache, sensorimotor complaints, and back pain. Unilateral lower extremity swelling, tenderness, and erythema may accompany deep venous thromboses.

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LUNG CANCER INTRODUCTION

Lung cancer may also be the most tragic cancer because in most cases, it might have been prevented, 87% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Lung cancer has long been the most common cause of cancer death in men and since 1987 it has also become the most common cause of cancer death in women. Lung cancer is the second most commonly occurring form of cancer in most western countries and although the lung cancer incidence is less common in developing countries, the rapid increase in the popularity of smoking will see the number of lung cancer sufferers in those countries quickly catch up with the western world.

Lung cancers can arise in any part of the lung, and 90%-95% of cancers of the lung are thought to arise from the epithelial, or lining cells of the larger and smaller airways (bronchi and bronchioles); for this reason, lung cancers are sometimes called bronchogenic carcinomas or bronchogenic cancers.

The most common type of lung cancers are epidermoid carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma.

Most experts agree that lung cancer is attributable to inhalation of carcinogenic pollutants by a susceptible host. Who is most susceptible? Any smoker over the age of 40, especially if they began smoking before the age of 15, have smoked 20 or more for 20 years, or worked with or near asbestos. Two other factors also increase susceptibility: exposure to carcinogenic industrial and air pollutants (asbestos, uranium, arsenic, nickel, iron oxides, chromium, radio active dust, and coal dust.) and familial susceptibility.

LUNG CANCER SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Because early lung cancer usually produces no symptoms, the disease is often in an advanced stage when first diagnosed. Late stage signs are: with epidermoid and small cell carcinoma; smokers cough, hoarseness, wheezing, dyspnea, hemoptysis and chest pain. With adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma; fever, weakness, weight loss, anorexia and shoulder pain. In addition, hormone production which regulates various body functions may also be affected.

LUNG CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Firm diagnosis requires chest x rays, sputum cytology, CT scanning, bronchoscopy the examination of pleural fluid and biopsies. Other tests to detect metastasis include bone scans, bone marrow biopsy and CT scans of the brain and abdomen.

LUNG CANCER METASTASES

Lung cancer most often spreads to the liver, the adrenal glands, the bones, and the brain. Lung cancer that has metastasized to the bone causes bone pain, usually in the backbone (vertebrae), the thighbones, and the ribs. Lung cancer that spreads to the brain can cause difficulties with vision and weakness on one side of the body.

Lung cancer may grow into certain nerves in the neck, causing a droopy eyelid, small pupil, sunken eye, and reduced perspiration on one side of the face; together these symptoms are called Horner’s syndrome (see Autonomic Nervous System Disorders: Horner’s Syndrome). Lung cancer may grow directly into the esophagus, or it may grow near it and put pressure on it, leading to difficulty in swallowing. Lung cancer may also spread through the bloodstream to the liver, brain, adrenal glands, spinal cord, and bone.

LUNG CANCER TREATMENT

Treatment for lung cancer depends on the cancer’s specific cell type, how far it has spread, and the patient’s performance status. If investigations confirm lung cancer, CT scan and often positron emission tomography (PET) are used to determine whether the disease is localised and amenable to surgery or whether it has spread to the point where it cannot be cured surgically. Treatment is usually a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Surgery is usually the first option. Chemotherapy can be used as a first line treatment for lung cancer or as additional treatment after surgery. Radiation therapy can be directed at your lung cancer from outside your body (external beam radiation) or it can be put inside needles, seeds or catheters and placed inside your body near the cancer (brachytherapy). Radiation therapy can be used alone or along with other lung cancer treatments. Radiation therapy can also be used to lessen side effects of lung cancer.

Treatment may not be as effective for patients with bone or liver metastases from lung cancer, excessive weight loss, ongoing cigarette use, or pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease or emphysema. At some point, if you and your oncologist or primary care physician agree that treatment no longer is advisable, hospice care can provide comfort.

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Related articles by Cancer Treatment Pro

• Combination of PET/CT tests can expedite diagnosis of lung cancer in a fast-track setting (scienceblog.com)
• Preventative brain radiation for lung cancer patients: Benefits and risks (scienceblog.com)
• Scientists May Know How Lung Cancer Spreads (nlm.nih.gov)

Lung cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the United States. Lung cancer causes more death than any other cancer cases among men and women in this country. Fourteen percent of all cancer records in the United States are lung cancer cases and twenty-eight percent of cancer deaths are from lung cancer patients.

Major causes of lung cancers are cigarette smoking and breathing impure air including asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure can lead to Mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lungs or abdominal cavity.

Severity of lung cancer depends greatly to the amount of time a person spent smoking. As compared to non-smokers, smokers are at high risk of lung cancer. In fact, smokers are twenty-two percent more at risk of acquiring lung cancer than their non-smoking counterpart.

Additionally, because lung cancer symptoms do not manifest until it is already on its advanced stage, minor lung cancer symptoms are often ignored.

This is because minor lung cancer symptom such as frequent coughing is often associated with itchiness in the throat. Smokers believe that this is an ordinary occurrence among smokers, thus they are not alarmed until they feel more severe lung cancer symptoms.

When this happens, truly the lung cancer symptom shows because of the advanced stage of the cancer. The uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs is already manifesting through the lung cancer symptoms and by this time, secondary cancer cells are already developing in other organs of the body.

Severe lung cancer symptoms include persistent coughing, chronic chest pain, which is associated with shortness of breathing, wheezing and hoarseness of the voice.

Often, because of the similarity of lung cancer symptoms to bronchial asthma, people who self medicate usually try to treat the shortness of breathing with asthma medication.

The medication is thus useless because it is not working on the actual disease. It is thus imperative that minor discomforts such as shortness of breathing be brought to the attention of a competent doctor for evaluation. This will avoid treating a disease with a different medication such as in self-medicating patients.

Other lung cancer symptoms are blood in sputum, recurring cases of pneumonia or bronchitis, neck and facial swelling, sudden weight loss and constant feeling of fatigue. All these lung cancer symptoms occur on the terminal stage of the cancer, and this makes it almost impossible to manage lung cancer and it symptoms.

Additionally, because there is still no known cure for lung cancer, treatments especially on its advanced stage are done to lessen the severity of the lung cancer symptoms. Remission of the disease may no longer happen on the advanced stage.

Thus, it is imperative that minor lung cancer symptoms be monitored. It is still easier to manage lung cancer at this stage, other than in the advanced stage.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, if you cease smoking, this effort will help you slow down the possibility of lung cancer. Even for those long time smokers, withdrawing from smoking will help lessen the possibility of acquiring the disease.

Keeping a healthy body and strong immune system will help avoid lung cancer for smokers or non-smokers alike.

Smokers may cease from smoking to help ensure they will not suffer lung cancer in the future. Then, they will not have to worry about lung cancer symptoms because halting smoking will also halt the possibility of acquiring this deadly disease.

Regular exercise will help ensure your immune system will be strong enough to fight lung cancer and thus no lung cancer symptoms will ever occur.

Living a healthy and active lifestyle, and avoiding smoking will ensure you will leave longer and better.

About the Author:Mark MacKay is a freelance health columnist. He is also the creator of Lung Cancer Treatments, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information on Lung Cancer. Visit his site at http://www.Lung-Cancer-Explained.info
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Lung Cancer Symptoms, What You Need To Know.

One vital aspect of recognizing the symptoms of lung cancer is knowing your body and listening to it. Once you are in tuned with your body you will know when to take action. Symptoms of lung cancer usually will occur in the breathing part of your body also known as the respiratory system. If you experience any or all symptoms; you should schedule an appointment to see your doctor right away.

If you have a persistent cough that lasts more than 3 weeks. This is usually indicative of a respiratory infection or early stages of lung cancer which requires immediate attention from your doctor. If you smoke you may have what is referred to as the smoker’s cough.

This cough alone will cause a persistent cough so if you smoke; regular visits to your doctor is imperative because the cough can convert into cancer without you knowing it; and that is because you are so accustomed to coughing. So don’t take that for granted. If you smoke; quit. Smoking is like puffing on cancer sticks.

What if you don’t smoke and you have a persistent cough for more than 3 weeks. You may have been around people who smoke constantly or exposed to an area where there was constant smoke.
Another symptom of lung cancer is blood or brown tinged colored sputum. Sputum is mucus that you cough up when you have a cold. If you do not have a cold and you cough this up in the morning or during the day pay attention to the color.

The normal color for sputum is clear white or clear pale. Being more lethargic than usual is another sign to look out for. We all experience times when we have less energy; but if you see yourself tiring more often than usual then you may need to take action. Knowing your body ;paying attention to it and taking action can destroy lung cancer in its tracks before it gets out of hand.

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