What is Lung Cancer?
Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body start dividing uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer grows in the lungs, it is called Lung cancer. Lungs are defined as the two huge organs that are found under the rib cage and on top of the diaphragm. Lungs help in the respiration of the human body such as breathing in and breathing out.
Types of Lung Cancer
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC): This is considered a fast-growing kind of lung cancer as compared to non-small cell lung cancer. It is further classified into two categories, i.e., Small cell carcinoma (oat cell cancer), and Combined small cell carcinoma.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): This is a type of lung cancer in which cancer cells generate in the tissues of the lung. Smoking is one of the most common risk factors for developing non-small cell lung cancer.
Risk Factors of Lung Cancer
Smoking:
Smoking is the highest threat for causing lung cancer. A cigarette is a product which consists of tobacco which is an ingredient made of around 7000 toxic chemicals. A total of 83 carcinogens have been identified; 37 in unburned tobacco and 80 in tobacco smoke. Smokers are 15-30% more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not smoke. People who are thinking of quitting smoke will have a chance to reduce the risk of lung cancer more than the people who will continue to smoke. But they will still have a greater chance of having lung cancer than those who never smoked. Cigarette smoking can also cause cancer in other parts of the body like the mouth, throat, kidney, pancreas, trachea, urinary bladder, etc.
Secondhand smoke:
This is smoke that you inhale from other people’s smoke. When you are around smokers and their smoke is inhaled by you, it causes a risk of developing lung cancer. Secondhand smoke is considered a threat of causing approximately 7000 to 36,000 lung cancers per year in the US alone.
Radon:
Radon is a type of radioactive gas which is discharged from the decomposition of elements such as uranium, radium, and thorium in rocks and soil. It is an odourless, tasteless, and invisible gas. It can enter buildings or homes through cracks or holes in the walls. According to the local geology, radon dissolves into the water and is circulated to the air when the water is used. Therefore, radon is present in about all the air. When you inhale the tiny radioactive particles of radon, it causes damage to the cells around the lung. This results in lung cancer. Radon vanishes in well-ventilated spaces. Ventilation helps in eliminating the gas from homes.
People facing Lung Cancer who never smoked
Lung cancer can also be caused in people if they have never smoked cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. The other risk factors causing lung cancer are such as secondhand smoke, air pollution, radon, or genetic history of lung cancer. The symptoms of lung cancer are the same irrespective of your non-smoking habit. For instance, you might observe blood in their cough, chest pain, wheezing, or stress in breathing.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer has different symptoms in different people. You must visit a doctor at an early stage of cancer when you start to notice some of the common symptoms. There are various common symptoms of lung cancer as follows –
- A prolonged cough that won’t go away
- Loss of an appetite
- Coughing blood or rusty phlegm
- Shortness of Breath
- Feeling exhausted and weakness in the body
- Weight loss without trying
- Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back
When lung cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it may cause –
- Bone pain. For instance, back pain or hip pain.
- Headache, numbness of an arm or leg, seizures, or dizziness.
- Swelling of lymph nodes. Immune systems are a part of lymph nodes.
- Jaundice (yellow pigmentation of eyes and skin)
Treatment of Lung Cancer
Prevention of lung cancer is dependent on the range and types of lung cancer. Individuals who have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a mixture of these cures. People with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are usually treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Let’s have a brief look at the common treatments mentioned above for lung cancer –
- Surgery: It is a procedure where doctors remove the tumour from the body. A lung transplant is a major type of surgery in which doctors remove the damaged lung to replace it with a healthy lung.
- Chemotherapy: These are the medicines which are produced for killing or diminishing cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy: This is also known as Radiotherapy. This therapy requires the usage of high-energy rays (like X-rays) to eliminate cancer cells.
- Targeted therapy: In this therapy, drugs are used to hinder the growth and expansion of cancer cells. These drugs can be given to you either by the pills to be taken from your mouth or injected into your veins. You will have to first take tests to observe if targeted therapy is right for your cancer type or not. Then you can proceed accordingly.
- Immunotherapy: This is a treatment that works by potentiating the immune responses against lung cancer. It is a safe treatment as it is biological. The treatment offers remission to patients, not in weeks – months but years and sometimes a lifetime. Free of toxic side effects it is found to be a revolution in Science.
Lifestyle changes for Lung Cancer Patients
Once you are diagnosed with cancer, that’s where your cancer survival mission begins. You will be referred to as a cancer survivor from that moment to the rest of your life. Some of the changes that you maintain in your lifestyle are as follows –
Quit Smoking
First comes first, you must stop smoking while dealing with lung cancer. It already did the damage but to stop the damage from spreading further, you must quit the toxic habit. To do that, there are several health and social centres like rehabs where you can enrol yourself for seeking help to quit smoking. When you quit smoking, it benefits you with:
- Normalising your blood pressure and heart rate levels.
- Better functionality of your respiratory system.
- It will stop further growth and progression of your tumour.
Healthy Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet while facing lung cancer is mandatory. You must consume your diet directly from the nutrients and not from any supplements. This will help you organize a healthy body weight with balanced sugar levels. Do not go with beta-carotene if you are a smoker. It is found to grow tumour growth and progression. You must eat a varied diet with fruits and green vegetables. You can eat fresh fruits and vegetables which are rich in antioxidants like dark-green veggies, berries, fish, and oats.
Physical Activity
Focus on exercising and being fit both physically and mentally. Physical activities might improve body weight, and mood, and lessen tiredness. You can try to boost your energy by jogging and light stretching during the morning.
Contact your Healthcare Provider
You must take an appointment with a healthcare specialist as soon as you are diagnosed with cancer. Your healthcare specialist would be your caretaker related to any enquiry that you must face about your treatment or disease. They will be there for you when you need any sort of assistance while surviving cancer.
Create a Care Schedule
At last, it is advisable to arrange a schedule or make a to-do list for your daily routine. This will be a reminder of the daily tasks that you must follow while dealing with cancer. For example, monitoring of symptoms, and any side effects caused by your treatment.
Conclusion
It is normal to get anxious when you are diagnosed with a disease like lung cancer, but you must focus on the solution. This could be done by taking recommended precautions and treatments as stated in the blog. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers seen in both men and women. Understanding the early signs and symptoms is crucial to diagnose them early. An early diagnosis of cancer can save numerous lives. Cancer is best treated using an Integrated or Multi-disciplinary approach. Talk to your doctor about various treatment options. Do not delay the process of seeking the right time at the right time.
What is Lung Cancer?
Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body start dividing uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer grows in the lungs, it is called Lung cancer. Lungs are defined as the two huge organs that are found under the rib cage and on top of the diaphragm. Lungs help in the respiration of the human body such as breathing in and breathing out.
Types of Lung Cancer
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC): This is considered a fast-growing kind of lung cancer as compared to non-small cell lung cancer. It is further classified into two categories, i.e., Small cell carcinoma (oat cell cancer), and Combined small cell carcinoma.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): This is a type of lung cancer in which cancer cells generate in the tissues of the lung. Smoking is one of the most common risk factors for developing non-small cell lung cancer.
Risk Factors of Lung Cancer
Smoking:
Smoking is the highest threat for causing lung cancer. A cigarette is a product which consists of tobacco which is an ingredient made of around 7000 toxic chemicals. A total of 83 carcinogens have been identified; 37 in unburned tobacco and 80 in tobacco smoke. Smokers are 15-30% more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not smoke. People who are thinking of quitting smoke will have a chance to reduce the risk of lung cancer more than the people who will continue to smoke. But they will still have a greater chance of having lung cancer than those who never smoked. Cigarette smoking can also cause cancer in other parts of the body like the mouth, throat, kidney, pancreas, trachea, urinary bladder, etc.
Secondhand smoke:
This is smoke that you inhale from other people’s smoke. When you are around smokers and their smoke is inhaled by you, it causes a risk of developing lung cancer. Secondhand smoke is considered a threat of causing approximately 7000 to 36,000 lung cancers per year in the US alone.
Radon:
Radon is a type of radioactive gas which is discharged from the decomposition of elements such as uranium, radium, and thorium in rocks and soil. It is an odourless, tasteless, and invisible gas. It can enter buildings or homes through cracks or holes in the walls. According to the local geology, radon dissolves into the water and is circulated to the air when the water is used. Therefore, radon is present in about all the air. When you inhale the tiny radioactive particles of radon, it causes damage to the cells around the lung. This results in lung cancer. Radon vanishes in well-ventilated spaces. Ventilation helps in eliminating the gas from homes.
People facing Lung Cancer who never smoked
Lung cancer can also be caused in people if they have never smoked cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. The other risk factors causing lung cancer are such as secondhand smoke, air pollution, radon, or genetic history of lung cancer. The symptoms of lung cancer are the same irrespective of your non-smoking habit. For instance, you might observe blood in their cough, chest pain, wheezing, or stress in breathing.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer has different symptoms in different people. You must visit a doctor at an early stage of cancer when you start to notice some of the common symptoms. There are various common symptoms of lung cancer as follows –
- A prolonged cough that won’t go away
- Loss of an appetite
- Coughing blood or rusty phlegm
- Shortness of Breath
- Feeling exhausted and weakness in the body
- Weight loss without trying
- Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back
When lung cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it may cause –
- Bone pain. For instance, back pain or hip pain.
- Headache, numbness of an arm or leg, seizures, or dizziness.
- Swelling of lymph nodes. Immune systems are a part of lymph nodes.
- Jaundice (yellow pigmentation of eyes and skin)
Treatment of Lung Cancer
Prevention of lung cancer is dependent on the range and types of lung cancer. Individuals who have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a mixture of these cures. People with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are usually treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Let’s have a brief look at the common treatments mentioned above for lung cancer –
- Surgery: It is a procedure where doctors remove the tumour from the body. A lung transplant is a major type of surgery in which doctors remove the damaged lung to replace it with a healthy lung.
- Chemotherapy: These are the medicines which are produced for killing or diminishing cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy: This is also known as Radiotherapy. This therapy requires the usage of high-energy rays (like X-rays) to eliminate cancer cells.
- Targeted therapy: In this therapy, drugs are used to hinder the growth and expansion of cancer cells. These drugs can be given to you either by the pills to be taken from your mouth or injected into your veins. You will have to first take tests to observe if targeted therapy is right for your cancer type or not. Then you can proceed accordingly.
- Immunotherapy: This is a treatment that works by potentiating the immune responses against lung cancer. It is a safe treatment as it is biological. The treatment offers remission to patients, not in weeks – months but years and sometimes a lifetime. Free of toxic side effects it is found to be a revolution in Science.
Lifestyle changes for Lung Cancer Patients
Once you are diagnosed with cancer, that’s where your cancer survival mission begins. You will be referred to as a cancer survivor from that moment to the rest of your life. Some of the changes that you maintain in your lifestyle are as follows –
Quit Smoking
First comes first, you must stop smoking while dealing with lung cancer. It already did the damage but to stop the damage from spreading further, you must quit the toxic habit. To do that, there are several health and social centres like rehabs where you can enrol yourself for seeking help to quit smoking. When you quit smoking, it benefits you with:
- Normalising your blood pressure and heart rate levels.
- Better functionality of your respiratory system.
- It will stop further growth and progression of your tumour.
Healthy Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet while facing lung cancer is mandatory. You must consume your diet directly from the nutrients and not from any supplements. This will help you organize a healthy body weight with balanced sugar levels. Do not go with beta-carotene if you are a smoker. It is found to grow tumour growth and progression. You must eat a varied diet with fruits and green vegetables. You can eat fresh fruits and vegetables which are rich in antioxidants like dark-green veggies, berries, fish, and oats.
Physical Activity
Focus on exercising and being fit both physically and mentally. Physical activities might improve body weight, and mood, and lessen tiredness. You can try to boost your energy by jogging and light stretching during the morning.
Contact your Healthcare Provider
You must take an appointment with a healthcare specialist as soon as you are diagnosed with cancer. Your healthcare specialist would be your caretaker related to any enquiry that you must face about your treatment or disease. They will be there for you when you need any sort of assistance while surviving cancer.
Create a Care Schedule
At last, it is advisable to arrange a schedule or make a to-do list for your daily routine. This will be a reminder of the daily tasks that you must follow while dealing with cancer. For example, monitoring of symptoms, and any side effects caused by your treatment.
Conclusion
It is normal to get anxious when you are diagnosed with a disease like lung cancer, but you must focus on the solution. This could be done by taking recommended precautions and treatments as stated in the blog. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers seen in both men and women. Understanding the early signs and symptoms is crucial to diagnose them early. An early diagnosis of cancer can save numerous lives. Cancer is best treated using an Integrated or Multi-disciplinary approach. Talk to your doctor about various treatment options. Do not delay the process of seeking the right time at the right time.
