Know the basics of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment to help you battle lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women (not including skin cancer), with an estimated 228,150 new cases (116,440 in men and 111,710 in women) expected to be diagnosed in 2019. It’s also a deadly cancer; in 2019, 142,670 people (76,650 men and 66,020 women) are predicted to pass away from it. According to Dr. David Carbone, medical oncologist and director of the Thoracic Oncology Center at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, “if you add up all the deaths from the next several most common causes of cancer deaths, it does not equal lung cancer.”
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Signs and Symptoms lung cancer
Lung cancer typically does not offer many signs of its presence early on, which makes detecting it in its most treatable stages a difficult undertaking. Among those who do have symptoms, the most common ones, according to the American Cancer Society, are:
- “A cough that does not go away or gets worse.
- Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm).
- Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing or laughing.
- Hoarseness.
- Weight loss and loss of appetite.
- Shortness of breath.
- Feeling tired or weak.
- Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back.
- New onset of wheezing.”
Screening
Though heavy smokers are advised to keep an eye on their lung health, particularly if they are unwilling or unable to stop, routine screening for lung cancer is not yet widely practiced. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises individuals 55 to 80 years old who smoke 30 packs or more per year and who have not smoked in the previous 15 years to undergo annual screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT scanning). The number of packs of cigarettes you smoke or smoke every day multiplied by the number of years you have smoked will give you your pack-year figure. For instance, your pack-year rate would be 30 if you smoked a pack every day for 30 years. The greater the figure, the greater your risk of developing lung cancer.
In order to identify lung cancer in its early stages, when it is most treatable, Dr. Andrea B. McKee, chair of radiation oncology at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center’s Sophia Gordon Cancer Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, believes that this screening ought to be conducted more frequently. “The biggest mortality benefit we’ve seen in any intervention we’ve been able to do for lung cancer” is provided by screening.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will use X-ray or CT imaging to get a closer look at your lungs in order to diagnose lung cancer. In the event that a suspicious mass or tumor is discovered, your physician might advise further imaging tests, such as a lung endoscopy—a procedure in which your physician uses a scope to look inside your airways—or a PET scan. Following a biopsy, a tissue sample will be removed so that it can be tested to identify the type and stage of cancer, as well as whether the mass is malignant.
Samples of your tumor will be sent to the lab for additional analysis to determine the specific genetic mutations that may be driving the growth of the cancer. This information is important for helping your oncologist develop the right treatment plan for your individual case.
Types and Stages
A lung cancer diagnosis is not the same thing for all patients. The type of lung cancer and its stage, or how advanced it is, along with additional information about your cancer’s specific characteristics, such as genetic mutations, will all dictate how your doctor recommends treating the disease. Lung cancer can be categorized into two main types: non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, and small cell lung cancer, or SCLC.
Treatments
Although lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, there are ways to treat the disease that can prolong your life.
The very first thing you should do upon receiving a lung cancer diagnosis (if you haven’t already) is quit smoking. Although never smoking is best, quitting as soon as possible is always better than continuing to smoke. Even if you’ve smoked for a long time, quitting smoking is the best way to help improve your survival timeline and prognosis.
When treating most types of cancer, the initial course of action is usually to remove the tumor, especially if it was discovered early and hasn’t spread to other parts of the body. Your doctor may suggest a wedge resection, in which the tumor is removed along with a wedge-shaped margin of healthy cells surrounding it, based on the stage and type of your lung cancer.
Also read-Colon Cancer : A Patient’s Guide To Colon Cancer And Its Symptoms
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor.
