Lung Cancer Basic Description: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. It is also the most preventable cancer. Smoking tobacco – whether cigarettes, cigars, or a pipe – accounts for more than eight out of 10 lung cancer cases.

There are two major types of lung cancer, nonsmall cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer; each grows and spreads in different ways and is treated differently. Symptoms of lung cancer may include:

• Cough that does not go away and gets worse over time

• Chest pain

• Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness

• Weight loss and loss of appetite

• Coughing up blood

• Fever without a known reason

• Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis

Although these symptoms may be signs of other, less serious illnesses, a physician should be seen if they persist.

Opportunities: Prevention Quitting smoking, or not starting at all, is by far the best way to prevent lung cancer. Breathing in other people’s smoke should also be avoided. Everyone – whether they smoke or not – may be able to reduce their risk of lung cancer by eating a healthy, balanced diet with at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. People should find out if they are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals at work and take appropriate measures to protect themselves. Monitoring indoor radon levels, especially in the home, can also protect against lung cancer.

Detection Because symptoms often do not appear until the disease has progressed, early detection is difficult. Many early lung cancers are diagnosed incidentally, meaning they are found as a result of tests performed for an unrelated medical condition. If the doctor suspects lung cancer, he or she will do a physical exam and a health-related interview to check for risk factors and symptoms. Tests, such as a chest x-ray, analysis of cells in the phlegm, bronchoscopy (viewing the breathing passages through a flexible lighted tube), and biopsy, may also be ordered.

Treatment Surgery to remove cancerous tumors, hemotherapy, and radiation therapy, either in combination or alone, are the common treatments, depending on cancer type and stage.

Statistics: The five-year relative survival rate represents the percentage of patients who live at least five years after diagnosis, whether dis-ease-free, in remission, or under treatment (after excluding people who die of other causes from these calculations). It does not imply that five-year survivors have been permanently cured of cancer. Localized cancer represents cancer that, at the time of diagnosis, had not spread to additional sites within the body. Typically, the earlier cancer is found and diagnosed, the more successful the treatment, thus enhancing the survival rate.

The number of Americans who develop lung cancer is decreasing, primarily due to the decrease in adult smoking during the past 30 years. However, most adolescents who become regular smokers continue to smoke into adulthood. Those who start to smoke at young ages are at highest risk for tobacco-related deaths.

Continue Reading:  What is Lung Cancer – Explanation of Lung Cancer Part 2

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