Home : Health Conditions : All You Need To Know About Lung Cancer

All You Need to Know about Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is usually diagnosed when there is an uncontrollable growth of tissues around the lungs, which can gradually spread to other parts of your body as well as may cause death in many cases. However, around 90% of cases of cancers of the lung are believed to develop from the lining of the cells of the larger (bronchi) and smaller (bronchioles) airways, called the epithelial cells.

Often, the adjacent cells of the lung tissues and blood vessels are responsible for causing lung cancer.

All You Need to Know about Lung Cancer
More than 70% of the people diagnosed with cancer are of the age above 60 years. Apart from the lungs, cancer can spread to other parts of the body too, and the process involved is regarded as metastasis.

Lung cancer is one of the widespread causes of death in the country as well as in other parts of the world. People with cancer need to be diagnosed at the earliest and appropriate treatment should be provided in order to cure cancer. Various treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and radiosurgery are used to treat cancer.

Causes of lung cancer
There are multiple causes of lung cancer. Nevertheless, there are many risk-enhancing factors as well. Owing to the fact that a large part of the patients of lung cancer is non-smokers, it is evident that even air pollution is a major factor in increasing the risk of developing lung cancer. Some of the common causes are as follows:

  • Smoking
    This is the prime reason as well as a risk enhancer of cancer. A prolonged period of cigarette smoking is proved to be the leading cause behind 90% of the cancer cases.
  • Asbestos
    Exposure to asbestos can also cause cancer. The asbestos fibers are silicate fibers obtained from cigar smoking; these tend to remain in the tissues for a longer period of time and eventually increase the risk of getting cancer.
  • Passive smoking
    Even non-smokers are also at a risk of developing cancer. In case you inhale the smoke of cigars or pipes, this is called passive smoking. It has been found that around 25% of risk is increased if a non-smoker is under constant exposure to smoke.
  • Radon
    Prolonged exposure to radon gas, coming from soil can also be a probable cause behind developing lung cancer.
  • Heredity
    The history of cancer in the family can also be a prime driver in causing cancer among people. Your immediate family member or relative might have had cancer, and it is likely that you will also gain it.

Symptoms of lung cancer
The symptoms usually do not show up at the initial stage, but they get prominent when cancer reaches an advanced stage. The symptoms include persistent coughing accompanied by blood sometimes, shortness of breath, and changes in voice characterized by hoarseness.

Other symptoms include loss of appetite, and as a result, you start feeling weak and the weight is diminished. There arise some neurological problems like memory loss too. Bones also tend to become naturally fractured due to weakness and not because of any accident or injury.

Treatments for lung cancer
The treatment for lung cancer is highly dependent on various factors such as the age and general health of the patient and also the position of cancer. Like any other cancer surgery, radiation therapy, radio surgery, chemotherapy, targeted drug therapies are the probable ways of treating cancer.

In case the cancer is confined to the lungs, surgery is the best option. However, if it has spread to nearby regions, it might be difficult to remove the lump or tumor and you might need high-power X-rays or drugs to kill the targeted cancerous cells so that they lose the ability to reproduce.

Disclaimer:
The content provided on our blog site traverses numerous categories, offering readers valuable and practical information. Readers can use the editorial team’s research and data to gain more insights into their topics of interest. However, they are requested not to treat the articles as conclusive. The website team cannot be held responsible for differences in data or inaccuracies found across other platforms. Please also note that the site might also miss out on various schemes and offers available that the readers may find more beneficial than the ones we cover.