Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, its deadly claws stretched over all continents in the world. Lung cancer is now the most prevalent form of cancer affecting Americans with an estimated 222,500 new cases every year, according to the American Cancer Society in 2010. A few symptoms of Lung cancer are: stubborn cough that will not quit, sometimes accompanied by a hoarse throat, pain in the chest and respiratory infections. As the cancer worsens and spreads the patient may experience: severe coughing, feelings of weakness and fatigue, and odd lumps appearing on the body.Although lung cancer is difficult to treat and cure, it is for the most part preventable. Lifestyle choices can be made which can …show more content…
When tobacco is smoked, nicotine causes physical and psychological dependency. Tobacco use is a significant factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers, and it contributes to a number of other threats to the health of the fetus such as premature births and low birth weight and increases by 1.4 to 3 times the chance for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
V. Diagnosis 4
How is lung cancer diagnosed?
Your doctor will check your symptoms and ask questions about whether you smoke or have been exposed to another person's smoke or to any cancer-causing substances. He or she will also ask about your medical history, including any history of cancer in your family. This information will help your doctor decide how likely it is that you have lung cancer and whether you need tests to be sure.
Lung cancer is usually first found on a chest
X-ray or a CT scan. More tests are done to find out what kind of cancer cells you have and whether they have spread beyond your lung. These tests help your doctor and you find out what stage the cancer is in. The stage is a rating to measure how big the cancer is and how far it has spread.
Soon after your results are in, your doctor will inform you if the cancer …show more content…
Treatment
Treatment for lung cancer includes surgery, anti-cancer medicines (
chemotherapy), radiation, or a mix of all three. It depends on what type of cancer you have and how much it has spread.
Few lung cancers are found in the early stages when treatment is most effective. When lung cancer is found before it has spread outside the lungs, about half of these people will live at least 5 more years. After lung cancer has spread outside the lungs, how long a person lives usually depends on how far the cancer has spread (the stage) by the time it is found.
It can be very scary to learn that you may have lung cancer. Talking with your doctor or joining a support group may help you deal with your feelings. Having support from family and friends can help a lot. And staying as active as possible will also help.
A) Types of treatment 6
More than one type of therapy may be prescribed for lung cancer. In such cases, the therapy that is added to enhance the effects of the primary therapy is referred to as adjuvant therapy. An example of adjuvant therapy is chemotherapy or radiotherapy administered after surgical removal of a tumor in an attempt to kill any tumor cells that remain following