Lung Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

November 13, 2021

Written by Maira Ahsan

Lung Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention - Young and Blissful

November 13, 2021

Written by Maira Ahsan

Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer that develops in the lungs and spread throughout the body. Your lungs are two spongy organs in your chest that take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide when you breathe in and out. Lung cancer is the most common cancer that leads to mortality worldwide. Lung cancer is most common in smokers, although it can also affect persons who have never smoked. The length of time and number of cigarettes you've smoked raises your chance of lung cancer. You can dramatically reduce your risks of acquiring lung cancer by quitting smoking, even if you've been smoking for a long time.

What are the causes of lung cancer?

Lung cancer can be caused by several factors, including:

Tobacco smoking
Passive smoking
Asbestos contamination
Radon poisoning (radioactive gas)
Exposure to chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, nickel, diesel fumes, and soot in the workplace
HIV infection, a virus that causes AIDS.
Family history
Pulmonary ailments such as fibrosis or emphysema history
Older Age

How would you know if you have lung cancer and what are the signs and symptoms of it?

Lung cancer can sometimes go undetected for years. It may be discovered on a chest x-ray for another reason. Symptoms that you may experience if you do have them include:

Discomfort or pain in the chest
Cough that persists or worsens over time
Breathing difficulty
Wheezing
sputum with blood (mucus coughed up from the lungs)
Hoarseness
Appetitelessness
Unexpected weight reduction
Fatigue
Swallowing Issues
Face and/or neck swelling and/or varicose veins

How would be you diagnosed if you have lung cancer?

Your doctor may use a variety of tools to make a diagnosis, including:

An examination of your medical history, which includes questions about your symptoms.
Family history.
A physical examination.
A chest x-ray or a chest CT scan are examples of imaging exams.
Blood and sputum lab testing.
A lung biopsy is performed.

Is it possible to prevent lung cancer?

Avoiding the following risk factors may aid in the prevention of lung cancer:

Smoking cessation. Don't start smoking if you don't already.
At work, reduce your exposure to harmful substances.
Reduce your radon exposure. Radon tests can reveal whether your home has high radon levels. You may either buy a test kit or pay a professional to perform the test for you.

What are the different types of lung cancer treatments?

The majority of people with lung cancer are not cured by current treatments. Your treatment will be affected by the type of lung cancer you have, the amount to which it has spread, your overall health, and other variables. There's a risk you'll need more than one treatment.

Small cell lung cancer is treated with a variety of methods.

Surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
Immunotherapy
The employment of a laser beam to eliminate cancer cells is known as laser treatment.
Placement of an endoscopic stent. An endoscope is narrow, tube-like equipment that is used to examine internal body tissues. It may be utilized to implant a stent. The stent aids in the opening of a blocked airway caused by aberrant tissue.

Non-small cell lung cancer is treated with a variety of methods.

Surgery
Radiation therapy
Chemotherapy
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that employs medications or other substances to attack specific cancer cells while causing minimal harm to healthy cells.
Immunotherapy
Laser therapy
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment that involves the combination of a drug and a specific type of laser light to kill cancer cells.
Cryosurgery is a procedure that involves freezing and destroying aberrant tissue with a device.
Electrocautery is a treatment that destroys aberrant tissue by heating a probe or needle with an electric current.

Conclusion

Lung cancer normally does not show symptoms until it has progressed throughout the body, either through the lungs or into other organs. This indicates that the prognosis for the disease is not as good as it is for many other types of cancer. About 1 in 3 patients with the disease live for at least a year after being diagnosed, and 1 in 20 live for at least ten years. Survival rates, on the other hand, vary dramatically depending on how far cancer has gone at the time of detection. Early detection can make a significant difference.