Lung Cancer : The Most Common Cancer

If you are this type of doctor you have to make sure all of the scanning images are very clear and readable. Next, you have to decide which images show the healthiest or pathological areas. Then, you have to observe and read over the results and care of the patient during the scanning procedures and make sure you get the correct data for the right person. They

* CT or MRI scans – these sophisticated scans involve lying still inside a machine as it takes images of the internal organs. The pictures that result can give a very good idea of whether cancer might be present but aren 't absolutely definite as cell samples are needed to make a full diagnosis. Scans are often done in order to guide a biopsy to suspicious areas.

A doctor can diagnose lung cancer through many tests. The doctor can have x-rays and CAT scans done to see what the inside of the lungs look like. By doing this that doctor is able to see what stage the cancer is in. A doctor may also do a test called a bronchoscope. This test allows the doctor to look inside the bronchial tubes and biopsy the tumor. The doctor then can take a small amount of the cells to study them to determine if the unusual cells are cancerous. If the cells turn out to be cancerous then the patient is in for many months even years of harsh treatment.

Lung Cancer, like any other type of cancer, is the uncontrollable growth of cells in the lung tissue. The main causes that contribute to lung cancer include inhaling carcinogens (basically, smoking), exposure to ionizing radiation, viral infections and even air pollution. These factors basically damage the tissues lining the bronchi in the lung, leading the cancer to develop further (Vaporciyan & Nesbitt JC, 2000). Primary lung cancers that develop in the epithelial tissues of the lung are known as carcinomas and claim the top spot in terms of leading cancer-related death causes. As of 2004, lung cancer

Lung cancer is a cancer (malignancy) that originates in the tissues of the lungs or the cells lining the airways. Lung cancer originates when normal lung cells become cancer cells, usually after a series of mutations, and begin to divide out of control.

Biopsy of the tumor. This is when a sample of the tumor is removed with a needle and studied.

In nuclear medicine diagnosing techniques, a very small amount of radioactive material is introduced into the body. Because medical isotopes are attracted to specific organs, bones or tissues, the emissions they produce can provide crucial information about a particular type of cancer or disease. Information gathered during a nuclear medicine technique is more comprehensive than other imaging procedures because it describes organ function, not just structure. The result is that many diseases and cancers can be diagnosed much earlier.

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.

There’s a biopsy where they take out the spot where they think the cancer is and test it for cancer. A CT scanning adds X-ray images with the aid of a computer to show across-parts and views of a patient's body. PET scans are often used to diagnose a condition or how a condition is developing in the body. They are used alongside X-rays. Patients are told to not eat for at least four to six hours before the scan but they can drink a lot of water. An MRI is a machine that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within your body. An X-Ray is an electromagnetic wave of high energy and very short wavelength, which is able to pass through many materials and to show through light. A bone scan is a nuclear imaging test that helps diagnose and track several types of bone disease. For treatment there are many different options. You have surgery, then you can have radiation therapy; and the high energy radiation kills cancer cells. Certain Kinase Inhibitors treat cancer that has a certain abnormal gene. Chemo Therapy is a drug treatment that blocks the spread of cancer. Immunotherapy is a treatment that teaches the body its defense system. Melanoma is found in body cells. The cancer is found in melanocytes, specialized cells in skin that produce brown color to skin known as

Due to cancer including over 100 different diseases it can cause almost any type of symptom through both direct and indirect mechanisms. The American Cancer Society lists the following as general symptoms that if persist for a long period of time and worsen, might be indicative of the presence of cancer, unexplained weight loss, fever, fatigue, pain and skin changes such as itching, excessive hair growth, hyperpigmentation, jaundice and reddened skin. These symptoms, due to their wide variety, aren’t expected to solely lead to an individual diagnosis.

CT scan to look for swelling or abnormalities in your spleen, liver, and lymph nodes.

• A PET (positron emission tomography) scan may help to show cancer activity in some other parts of the body. This can be helpful for “staging” the cancer (see

If Lung Cancer is suspected a few other tests can be used in conjunction to make a final determination of lung cancer

Liver cancer usually does not have any symptoms in its early stages and can be difficult to detect. Nevertheless, liver cancer can be detected by imaging tests. Some of the tests used to diagnose liver cancer are Ultrasound, Computed tomography (CT scan), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan), Biopsy and Laparoscopy. Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to generate a picture of the body and is used to show any abnormal growths in the liver. The CT scan is an x-ray test that produces detailed images of the body. This test can be very useful in precisely identifying liver tumors. The MRI also creates detailed images, but uses radio waves and

When diagnosing bone cancer, a doctor must first complete some tests. According to a summary of tests and procedures by Medicine Net on line, a doctor will first ask about a patient’s personal and family medical history in order to find out if there is any history of cancer in the family. Next, the doctor will order blood tests and x-rays. The exact size, shape, and location of a bone tumor can be seen through an x-ray. Then, a CAT scan (Computed Axial Tomography) will be completed to show whether the cancer has begun to spread to other parts of the body. A CAT scan will give detailed pictures of the cross section of the body. There are also similar tests like an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and an Angiogram (x-ray of the arteries), but a biopsy is the ultimate test that will make sure that cancer is present in the body. After the victim was told that she had bone cancer, she experienced a biopsy in Seattle, Washington. The Medicine Net on line explained that during a biopsy, doctors test a sample of the bone tumor and determine through a microscope whether or not the tumor is cancerous. The many different tests of bone cancer are very critical to the outcome of the disease. The tests are used for staging the bone cancer. For example, if a patient of bone cancer had a CAT scan, and it showed that the bone cancer was not spreading, the doctors could stage the patient’s cancer as controlled.