The leading risk factor for lung cancer is smoking. More than 80% of lung cancers are due to cigarette smoking. The longer a person has been smoking and also the more cigarettes a person smokes a day, the greater the risk is for developing lung cancer. Not only are smokers vulnerable to lung cancer, but the people around them are at a greater risk as well due to breathing second-hand smoke. Non-smokers who are married to smokers are at a 30% greater risk than non-smokers who are married to non-smokers. Marijuana cigarettes may also increase the risk of lung cancer since they contain many of the same cancer-causing agents that tobacco cigarettes have and are inhaled more deeply.

Lung cancer most commonly begins in the cells that line your lungs. Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers — both in smokers and in people exposed to secondhand smoke. But lung cancer also occurs in people who never smoked. In these cases, there may be no clear cause of lung cancer. Doctors have identified factors that may increase the risk.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also increase risk.

Causes of Lung Cancer

Smoking: smoking remains the greatest risk factor for lung cancer. Your risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day and the number of years you have smoked. Quitting at any age can significantly lower your risk of developing lung cancer.

Diet: Scientists are studying many different foods to see how they may change the risk of getting lung cancer. However, any effect diet may have on lung cancer risk is small compared with the risk from smoking. Eating a lot of fat and cholesterol might increase risk of lung cancer. Drinking a lot of alcohol may raise risk as well.

Family History: Studies have found a chromosome that may be resposible for lung cancer. The chromosome can be inherited. If you have had lung cancer before, there is a chance you may develop another type of lung cancer.

Air pollution from vehicles, industry, and power plants can raise the likelihood of developing lung cancer in exposed individuals. Up to 1% of lung cancer deaths are attributable to breathing polluted air, and experts believe that prolonged exposure to highly polluted air can carry a risk similar to that of passive smoking for the development of lung cancer.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer

People often decide to visit the doctor only after they have been bothered by certain complaints over a period of time. Individuals who have lung cancer frequently experience symptoms such as the following:

Metastasis to the bones is most common with small cell type cancers but also occurs with other lung cancer types. Lung cancer that has metastasized to the bone causes bone pain, usually in the backbone (vertebrae), the thighbones, and the ribs.

Shortness of breath usually results from a blockage to the flow of air in part of the lung, collection of fluid around the lung (pleural effusion), or the spread of tumor throughout the lungs.

A cough that does not go away or gets worse over time should be evaluated by a health-care provider.

Chest pain is a symptom in about one-fourth of people with lung cancer. The pain is dull, aching, and persistent and may involve other structures surrounding the lung.

Wheezing or hoarseness may signal blockage or inflammation in the lungs that may go along with cancer.

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Lung Cancer – Symptoms and Causes of Lung Cancer

Cancer & Health – It’s All about The Cell

Lung growth is the principal instigate of sarcoma deaths in both women and men in the United States and throughout the world. Lung melanoma has surpassed breast plague as the leading motive of sarcoma deaths in women.

In the United States in 2007, 160,390 people were projected to die from lung melanoma, which is more than the number of deaths from colorectal, breast, and prostrate plague mutual.

Only about 2% of those diagnosed with lung canker that has swell to other areas of the body are breathing five existence after the diagnosis, while the survival tariff for lung cancers diagnosed at a very early point are senior, with about 49% ongoing for five years or longer.

Some lung tumors are metastatic from cancers elsewhere in the body. The lungs are a customary site for metastasis. If this is the instance, the plague is not considered to be lung disease. For example, if prostrate lump spreads via the bloodstream to the lungs, it is metastatic prostrate scourge (a derived plague) in the lung and is not called lung disease.

Cancer occurs when customary cells undergo a transformation that causes them to grow and multiply lacking the habitual reins. The cells form a crowd or growth that differs with the surrounding tissues from which it arises. Tumors are hazardous because they take oxygen, nutrients, and distance from wholesome cells.

About 90% of lung cancers surface due to tobacco use. Cigarette smoking is the most important grounds of lung growth. Research as far back as the 1950s evidently established this relationship. Cigarette smoked contains more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which have been identified as causing sarcoma. A role who smokes more than one backpack of cigarettes per day has an imperil of developing lung disease 20-25 time greater than somebody who has never smoked.

However, Once a person quits smoking, his or her endanger for lung disease regularly decreases. About 15 years after quitting, the expose for lung pest decreases to the equal of someone who never smoked. Cigar and channel smoking also increases the endanger of lung scourge but not as much as smoking cigarettes. Most lung tumors are spiteful. This means that they invade and end the strong tissues around them and can widen throughout the body.

The tumors can also range to adjoining lymph nodes or through the bloodstream to other organs. This means is called metastasis. When lung melanoma metastasizes, the lump in the lung is called the major lump, and the tumors in other parts of the body are called minor tumors or metastatic tumors.

Adenocarcinoma (a NSCLC) is the most regular variety of lung sarcoma, making up 30%-40% of all luggage. A subtype of adenocarcinoma is called bronchoalveolar cubicle carcinoma, which creates a pneumonia-like appearance on chest x-emission. Squamous unit carcinoma (a NSCLC) is the support most normal print of lung scourge, making up about 30% of all lung cancers. Large section melanoma (another NSCLC) makes up 10% of all suitcases. SCLC makes up 20% of all suitcases. And lastly, Carcinoid tumors account for only 1% of all gear.

Lung cancers are regularly alienated into two highest groups that account for about 95% of all cases. The gulf into groups is based on the style of cells that make up the blight. About 5% of lung cancers are of bloody group types, including carcinoid growth, lymphoma, and others.

The two focal types of the booth characterized lung canker mass of the tumor when viewed under the microscope. They are called small faction lung growth (SCLC) and non-small cell lung blight (NSCLC). NSCLC includes several subtypes of tumors. SCLCs are excluding communal, but they grow more swiftly and are more possible to metastasize than NSCLCs. Often, SCLCs have already range to other parts of the body when the canker is diagnosed.

Up to one-fourth of all people with lung scourge may have no symptoms when the menace is diagnosed. These cancers mostly are identified incidentally when a chest x-ray is performed for another reason. The adulthood of people, however, acquire symptoms. The symptoms are dues to tell things of the major tumor, to things of metastatic tumors in other parts of the body, or to disturbances of hormones, blood, or other systems caused by the plague.

Symptoms of prime lung cancers compose cough, coughing up blood, chest bind, and dumpiness of breath. Symptoms of metastatic lung tumors depend on the position and mass. About 30%-40% of people with lung bane have some symptoms or cipher of metastatic disease.

A cough that does not go away or gets inferior over time should be evaluated by a vigor-attention source. Also, Coughing up blood (hemoptysis) occurs in a significant number of people who have lung blight. Any total of coughed-up blood is start for disturb. Chest hurt is a symptom in about one-fourth of people with lung melanoma. The bind is dull, aching, and persistent and may concern other structures surrounding the lung.

Additionally, tininess of breath typically fallout from an obstacle to the flow of air in part of the lung, collection of fluid around the lung (pleural effusion), or the spread of tumor throughout the lungs. Wheezing or hoarseness may gesture blockage or inflammation in the lungs that may go along with bane. Finally, Repeated respiratory infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, can be a show of lung cancer.

About the Author:Learn about types of lung cancer and lung cancer survival rates at the Lung Cancer Facts site.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What Causes Lung Cancer

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The smoking of cigarettes is principal cause of lung cancer worldwide. It is reported that 90% of all lung cancer cases are related to smoking of cigarettes. Second hand smoke is another cause of this cancer but it is still related to cigarette smoke.

Asbestos is another cause of cancer of the lungs other than cigarettes. This is due to the continuous presence of asbestos fibers in the lung tissue of people until their deaths. Also, asbestos causes mesothelioma which is a cancer of the pleura of the lung. It is a form of lung cancer. This is a major ailment that afflicts those with long term exposure to asbestos. Many mesothelioma sufferers have successful sued U.S corporations and have won large settlements.

Radon gas is another culprit. Radon gas is a gas that is radioactive in nature and those exposed to it suffer the risk of mutations which can become cancerous. Radon gas is a gas existing in nature and its concentration varies from one location to the other. It can penetrate through soil and leach into homes. Radon gas is the second leading cause of cancer of the lungs in the United States. Have you confirmed the radon gas levels in your house? Please do so today!

Pollution from factories, cars and power plants are another cause of this cancer. Exposure to polluted air increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Do you know for instance that car exhaust is more carcinogenic that cigarette smoke?

The other causes of lung cancer account for 10%.

So apart from minimizing exposure to cigarette smoke, one must also reduce exposure to radon gas and asbestos and chances of developing lung cancer are heavily reduced.

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There are a various risk factors that are linked to lung cancer. The most common known causes are as follows:

Cigarette Smoking

Cigarette smoking is probably the most closely related link to developing lung cancer. A person who smokes two packs or more of cigarettes per day has a one in seven chance of developing lung cancer. Those that smoke one pack of cigarettes per day have a twenty-five times greater chance of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker. In addition, those people that smoke a pipe or cigar have a five times greater chance of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker.

The risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over your lifetime. Cigarette smoking damages the cells in your lungs. The moment you stop smoking, your lungs begin healing themselves, replacing damaged cells with healthy, normal cells. Your risk of developing lung cancer begins decreasing almost immediately when you quit smoking. Every year that you do not smoke, your chances of developing lung cancer drop further. By the fifteenth year, your chances of developing lung cancer are about the same as those of a person who has never smoked.

Secondhand Smoke

Also known as passive smoking, people exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis will have a higher risk of developing lung cancer, even if they do not smoke themselves. Studies have shown that those who live with a smoker have a 24% greater risk of developing lung cancer than most non-smokers. Doctors estimate that about 3000 lung cancer deaths a year are related to secondhand smoke.

Asbestos Exposure

Exposure to asbestos is another well-known cause of lung cancer and mesothelioma – cancer of the pleural lining of the lungs. Asbestos was widely used in construction and everyday products in the late 1800s through the 1960s. Asbestos separates into fine silica fibers that become trapped in the tissues of the lungs. Mesothelioma is inextricably linked to asbestos exposure. There are no reported cases of mesothelioma in people who were not exposed to asbestos either in the workplace or through their environment. A non-smoker who was exposed to asbestos has a five times greater risk of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker who was not exposed. Smoking increases the risk dramatically – a smoker who was exposed to asbestos has a risk of developing lung cancer that is 50 to 90 times greater than that of a non-smoker.

Radon Gas

It is estimated that about 12% of lung cancer deaths can be attributed to radon gas, a colorless, odorless gas that is a natural byproduct of the decay of uranium. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 15% of homes in the United States have unsafe levels of radon gas, which will account for 15,000 to 22,000 deaths from lung cancer annually.

Air Pollution

Scientists estimate that as many as 1% of all lung cancer deaths are attributable to air pollution. They believe that prolonged exposure to very polluted air can raise the risks of developing lung cancer to about the levels of a passive smoker.
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Lung cancer is a serious health problem, it is essentially the growth of abnormal cells in the lungs.

This growth of unhealthy cells can start anywhere in the lungs.

Lung cancer is actually the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. Of those people who contract lung cancer, less than half of them survive one year. The quicker you notice symptom and have it diagnosed, the quicker treatment can begin and the odds improve.

The leading cause of lung cancer is smoking. More than eighty five percent of people who have lung cancer have gotten it from smoking.

If a person smokes a pack a day, they have twenty times the risk of getting lung cancer or some other serious health problem than a person who doesn’t smoke at all.

There are so many carcinogens in tobacco smoke that they constantly damage the healthy cells of the lungs, and the risk goes up for smokers depending on how long they have smoked and how much they have smoked.

There are other causes of lung cancer for healthy people who don’t smoke

These causes include asbestos, which used to be used in building materials. It enters a healthy person’s lungs by inhaling, and then attaches to the respiratory lining.

People who get lung cancer from asbestos exposure usually get it from work or from living in an older home.

Some doctors also think that women who are exposed to tobacco smoke, are more likely to have lung cancer than men exposed to smoke. Researchers have found a gene called GRPR which causes unusual cell growth in people exposed to cigarette smoke. This gene is more active in women than in men and may explain why females are more prone to lung cancer.

Some research has indicated a diet low in fruit and vegetables may increase the chances of developing cancer if exposed to tobacco smoke. Some evidence shows fruit and vegetables may protect against lung cancer.

The final cause of lung cancer in healthy people is radon exposure.

Radon is a gas which is naturally released from soil and rocks. In closed spaces like caves, basements and other areas, it can become concentrated and cause lung cancer or other health problems. It is always a good idea to have a home checked for radon levels because there are things that can be done to lower them to more acceptable levels.

The good news?

When smokers quit smoking, their risk for getting lung cancer goes down immediately and continues to decrease every year that they don’t smoke.

It is also an interesting fact that 25% of nonsmokers that get lung cancer live with smokers, so the secondhand smoke is most likely the cause of their lung cancer health issues.

Sources: Http://www.webmd.com
Get More Information Related to Smoking and Lung Cancer [http://www.4HealthConcerns.com/lungcancer/smoking-and-lung-cancer.html].
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