6. Information on Cancer
Cancer of the lung results from an abnormality in the body’s
basic unit of life, the cell. The body maintains a system of
checks and balances on cell growth so that cells divide to
produce new cells only when needed. If the system of checks
and balances is interrupted, the cell growth results in an
uncontrolled division of cells that eventually forms a mass
known as a tumor. Lung cancer tends to spread very early in its
course, causing it to be a very life threatening cancer and one of
the most difficult cancers to care for and treat. Lung cancer can
spread to any organ in the body, in particular, the adrenal
glands, liver, brain, and bone. Lung cancer mostly occurs in the
lungs of elderly people. Lung cancer was not common prior to
the 1930s but increased dramatically over the following decades
as tobacco smoking increased. In many developing countries,
the incidence of lung cancer is beginning to fall following public
education about the dangers of cigarette smoking and effective
smoking-cessation programs. Nevertheless, lung cancer
remains among the most common types of cancers in both men
and women worldwide.
7. STATISTICS
Lung cancer usually occurs in
the lungs of the elderly;
almost 70% of people
diagnosed with the condition
are over 65 years of age, while
less than 3% of cases occur in
people under age 45.
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9. Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Symptoms of lung cancer are varied dependent upon
the exact location of the tumor and the extent of its
spread. A person with lung cancer may have the
following kinds of symptoms:
No symptoms - Up to 25% of people who get lung
cancer do not have any symptoms when the cancer is
found.
Symptoms related to the cancer - The growth of the
cancer and invasion of lung tissues and surroundings
may interfere with breathing, leading to symptoms
such as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest
pain, and coughing up blood. If the cancer has
invaded nerves, for example, it may cause shoulder
pain that travels down the outside of the arm or
paralysis of the vocal cords leading to hoarseness.
Invasion of the esophagus may lead to difficulty
swallowing.
Lung cancer can spread to the bones and cause pain.
It can also spread to the brain causing headaches,
blurred visions, seizures, or symptoms of stroke.
Lastly, there are symptoms such as weight loss and
weakness.
10. Treatments for
Lung Cancer
A cancer specialist looks at a number of factors that help them
plan the treatment. They look at the type of lung cancer you
have, where the cancer is within the lung, ones general health,
whether the cancer has spread, and results of blood tests and
scans. Different people get different treatments depending on
certain factors.
Small cell lung cancer is mostly treated with chemotherapy.
Surgery is only suitable if there is no sign that the cancer has
spread to the nearby lymph glands and this is rare with small
cell lung cancer. It has usually spread at the time of diagnosis.
So chemotherapy is usually the main treatment.
Non small cell lung cancer can be treated with surgery,
chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a combination of these,
depending on the stage when the cancer is diagnosed.
If a person is on stage one of the lung cancer, the most
common treatment is surgery. If they are on stage two, the most
common treatment is surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. If
one is on stage three A, then the most common treatment is
combined chemotherapy and radiation, and sometimes surgery
based on results of treatment . On stage three B, it is
chemotherapy, and sometimes radiation. For stage four, the
most common and recommended surgery are either
chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy, clinical trials, or 10
supportive care.
11. Lung Cancer Discovered
Scientists at MIT's Center for Cancer Research
have discovered stem cells -- cells that do not
yet have a specific function -- in the lung. Not
only is this the first time anyone has found
stem cells in the lung, but the team claims that
these cells could be the precursor for lung
cancer, the cancer that causes the greatest 11
number of deaths in the U.S. each year.
12. My Point of Interest
I was mainly interested in learning about the
treatments of lung cancer. I was not aware that
different treatments were common for different
stages of the lung cancer. For example, stage one
was common for getting treated by surgery,
however, stage 4 was mainly treated by
chemotherapy. I learned that there are different
factors of the lung cancer that determine the
different treatments one receives, and this greatly
interested me.
