Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world. There are a variety of causes for this particular cancer, the most common one being smoking, or anything related to tobacco. What smoking does is damage the cells in the lungs. When you then inhale the smoke, the cancer-causing substances in the smoke begin to affect the lung tissue. Your body can at first naturally fix the damage, however if the smoking continues, the cells will continue to suffer and behave abnormally, which is when the cancer begins to take over. As one would guess, smoking directly has a much higher risk-rate than not smoking. There is however something called passive (second-hand smoking), in which case being around a heavy smoker can actually have similar …show more content…
One of theses being air pollution. Though this is rather uncommon, breathing polluted air can and does increase the probability of acquiring lung cancer. Because this is not near as direct as smoking, the chance of getting cancer is far less. Being in a highly polluted area for a long period of time affects the body in a similar way as passive smoking would. No matter what the cause, lung cancer is a very serious thing. Research shows that it takes several mutations for a lung cancer cell to form. However when the lung cancer cell does form, it begins dividing out of control, causing the divisions to have the same error in DNA. As the mutations continue, the lung tissue starts to no longer be able to carry out its function properly. In some cases, the cancer cells will then spread to other parts of the body, therefore spreading the cancer. Obviously, the simplest solution to treat lung cancer would be to just not get it in the first place. Unfortunately, the a lot of the time it is uncontrollable and therefore unavoidable. Luckily, though, there are some possible treatments for lung cancer. Though they all come with certain side-effects, the end result is worth it. The main five treatments are the
What are lung cancers? Lung cancers are the abnormal cells which grow in uncontrolled manner in one or both lungs. They do not function as normal lung cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. The abnormal cells can grow, form tumours and interfere with the normal functions of the lung (Lungcancer.org, 2015). Lung cancers can be divided into two major types, namely non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancers (SCLC). NSCLC can be further classified into three main subtypes, namely adenocarcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma (Longo & Harrison, 2012). Lung cancers can be diagnosed by chest X-ray, computerised tomography (CT) scan, positron emission tomography-computerised tomography (PET-CT) scan, bronchoscopy and biopsy (Nhs.uk, 2015). Unfortunately, lung cancers are often diagnosed at the later stages. This is due to the unrecognisable symptoms and warning signs at the earlier stages. NSCLC are often diagnosed at stage IV which accounts for 30-40% of cases whereas 60% of SCLC is diagnosed at stage IV. Lung cancer usually originates from the cells lining the bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli. Carcinogens especially tobacco smoke will alter the gene expression of the normal human lung cells, resulting in cell mutation. The proto-oncogenes will be converted to mutated form, oncogenes. Mutation leads to the decreased expression of the tumour suppressor genes. This results in uncontrolled cell proliferation, cell
A common form of cancer that is very popular today is lung cancer. Lung cancer is a very dangerous form that can cause problems in simple body functions. These simple body functions are short breath and general fatigue. Lung cancer is commonly formed from smokers that has been exposed to that activity for numerous years. Lung cancer can also be spread by being exposed to asbestos or other pollutants. This form of cancer has many risk factors to it. These risk factors are high levels of air pollution, arsenic drinking water, and radon gas. Radon gas is a gas that is highly radioactive and is very sensitive to the body. Once radon is exposed to the body, it has a very high respiration rate which initially divide its radioactive cells- causing more significant damage to the body.
However, there are stages in the lives of all humans when the body finds itself in a position where it is no longer able to defend itself against ailments and diseases and eventually may even lose the battle. One such disease which claims many lives every year in this manner is Cancer. So far so, there has been no cure for Cancer but some medicines and treatments are now available which can slow down and in some cases can even alter the effects of Cancer, depending on the stage at which the disease is at that moment. For this paper however we would concentrate on Lung Cancer and its effects.
Treatment: As long as the cancer has not spread to outside of the lung, it can be removed with surgical resection. There are now less invasive ways to remove cancer from the lungs, such as using a small video camera to see inside the chest, resulting in smaller incisions. There has very recently been a new way to treat non small cell lung cancer that would otherwise be inoperable. Shown to be more effective than normal radiation therapy and simply observing the cancers progress, stereotatic body radiation therapy can ???. Laser treatment is sometimes used to unblock air passages that are blocked by a tumour and attempt to control some spreading of the cancer cells. It is different to the other ‘treatments’ as it doesn’t actually provide a solution to getting rid of the cancer, but makes the symptoms more bearable for the patient.
Lung cancer mainly occurs in older people, but may occur in younger people as well. Many people who are diagnosed with lung cancer do not live passed the 5 year survival rate. People with stage 4 who make it passed the one year mark with stage 4 lung cancer often lucky. There are several lung cancer risks. Many people may experience a cough that does not go away or gets worse. The person may have chest pain that is often worse when taking a deep breath. The cough and chest pain are often mistaken for pneumonia. The person may experience weight loss and loss of appetite. In the late stages the person may have shortness of breath and feel tired or weak. Lung cancer could be diagnosed in a variety of ways. Lung cancer is often found when the person is having signs or symptoms. X-rays, magnetic fields, sound waves, or radioactive substances create pictures of the inside of your body. Imaging tests may be done for a number of reasons both before and after a diagnosis of lung cancer (cancer.org). X rays may not be able to pick up lung cancer sometimes so it is best to use another imaging test. A cat scan is more likely to show images of a tumor than a chest x
Lung cancer happens when abnormal cells (cancer cells) reproduce in your lungs. Your body thinks that these cells are harmful and starts attacking them, making your entire body very weak and sick. There are two main types of lung cancer: primary and secondary. Secondary lung cancer starts in another part of your body and spreads to your lungs. Primary lung cancer is when the cancer originates in your lungs.
Lung cancer is an uncontrollable disease in the lung. Many people die from this cancer because most of it has spread to other parts of the body by the time the symptoms start to show. The definition of lung cancer is the appearance of malignant tumors in
Most people know that smoking is one of the main causes of lung cancer. However, there are also other things that increase your cancer risk you are doing everyday. This includes breathing air full of smog to breathing the fumes from a running automobile or any gas powered engine.
Lung Cancer takes many peoples lives every single year, day and month. It is racked up as number (1) on the charts of different types and kinds of cancers. This cancer beats Breast Cancer, and Prostate Cancer on the death charts.
Cancer at this stage is also known as carcinoma in situ. The cancer is tiny in size and has not spread into deeper lung tissues or outside the lungs. Stage I of non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer may be present in the underlying lung tissues, but the lymph nodes remain unaffected. Stage II of non-small cell lung cancer: The cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes or into the chest wall. Stage III of non-small cell lung cancer. The cancer is continuing to spread from the lungs to the lymph nodes or to nearby structures and organs, such as the heart, trachea and esophagus. Stage IV of non-small cell lung cancer. The cancer has metastasized throughout the body and may now affect the liver, bones or brain.” There are five ways to counteract Lung Cancer. (Cancer.net) “Surgery, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy and
Lung cancer occurs when abnormal cells in one or both lungs grow in an uncontrolled way and form a mass called a neoplasm or tumour. The lungs are the main organs of the respiratory system located in the chest cavity on either side of the heart. Lung cancer can originate anywhere in the lungs. Tumours can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body, although they may interfere with other areas of the body as they grow. They may come up as nodules or a ‘spot on the lung’ in an x-ray. A malignant tumour is characterised by its ability to spread to other parts of the body through a process known as metastasis. If the spread is not stopped,
Lung cancer is cancerous tissues that forms within the lungs. Most of the time, you will see that the cancer affect the cells that line the air passages. There are two classifications of lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer affects the body by blocking your airways. This causes the person to have a hard time breathing. Another thing that can happen is that the cancerous tumors could spread to other parts on the body because of the cancer in the lungs. This will happen when a tumor could potentially shed malignant cells. After the tumor sheds the cells it can be then transported to other parts of the body. The cell is most likely spread through the bloodstream from the lymph fluid in the lungs tissues (Witschi, 2001).
Lung cancer also called as pulmonary carcinoma or carcinoma of lungs, is a malignant lung tumor that causes uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth can spread to all other parts of body by a process called metastasis. Lung cancer can be primarily typed into Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_cancer).The most common symptoms include respiratory symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath and systemic symptoms such as weight loss, fever and fatigue. Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death all over the world. Smoking is a primary risk factor which accounts for 85% of lung cancer deaths. The
Lung cancer is any type of cancer that begins in the lungs, although it is still considered lung cancer after it spreads to other parts of the body. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the U.S. and worldwide. Forty percent of people will be diagnosed with lung cancer within their life span. Lung cancer, as with all cancers, is very complex, so the best way to comprehend it is to break it down into easily analyzed topics. The first topic that must be analyzed is cancer as a whole-what it is, what causes it, and what can be done about it. After this essential knowledge is gained, it is possible to analyze lung cancer from an informed angle, understanding the statistics, research, and various classifications. Lung cancer is
It was one thought that lung cancer was strictly caused by lifestyle choices, but over the past years, it has been shown that lifestyle isn’t the thing that can potentially allow one to contract lung cancer. The environment along with tobacco use and genetics can also play a role in contracting lung cancer. In an industrial world, pollution has been a reoccurring problem. With emissions from vehicles and industrial power plants, air pollution and/or smog has been hovering over us. In places like China who are thriving in the industrial world, are being greatly affected by air pollution. According to Brody, “In Asia, lung cancer is alarmingly