LUNG CANCER

By Ethan Tronco

WHAT IS LUNG CANCER?

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs. The abnormal cells do not develop into healthy lung tissue, they divide rapidly and begin to form tumors. As the tumors become larger and more more numerous, they undermine the lungs ability to provide the bloodstream with the oxygen it needs.

CAUSE OF LUNG CANCER

The biggest cause of lung cancer is smoking cigarettes. Second hand smoking can also cause lung cancer. Cigarettes contain cancer causing chemicals. They also disarm the lungs natural defense system. The tobacco found in cigarette smoke paralyzes the cilia in your lungs which are tiny hairs found in the airways of your lungs. When the tobacco paralyzes the cilia, it allows carcinogens to collect inside the lungs.

VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd2jYSTi9NM

LUNG CANCER SYMPTOMS

Cough that doesnt go away Coughing up blood Shortness of breath Chest pains Wheezing Fatigue Bone pain

LUNG CANCER TYPES

There are two main types of lung cancer. They are distinguished by the appearance of the cancer cells under a microscope. The small lung cancer cells are more aggressive of the 2. That means the cells can spread quickly to other parts of the body early in the disease. The second type is a non-small-cell lung cancer. It grows more slowly and is more common among the two.

LUNG CANCER STAGES

The term staging is used to describe how far a patients cancer has spread. There are different systems for the two types of lung cancer. Small-cell lung cancer is divided into two stages: limited and extensive. Limited means the cancer is trapped to one lung and maybe a nearby lymph nodes. Extensive means the cancer has spread to both lungs and beyond. Non-small-cell lung cancer is assigned stages of 1-4 depending on how far the cancer spread.

TREATMENTS

Tr e a t i n g E a r l y - S t a g e s

Tr e a t i n g A d va n c e d S t a g e s

When non-small-cell lung cancer is found before it spread beyond one lung, surgery can sometimes be a cure. The surgeon might remove the part of the lung that contains the tumor. If necessary maybe an entire lung. Sometime the patients are given radiation and/or chemotherapy after surgery to kill the remaining cancer cells.

When lung cancer is too advanced to be cured, treatments can still help the patient live longer. Radiation therapy an chemotherapy can shrink tumors and help control the symptoms such as chest pains or blocked airways.

LUNG CANCER SURVIVAL RATES

Considering that lung cancer is the top cause of death in both men and women you would expect the survival rates to not be that promising. However, the survival rate for lung cancer can be misleading. The American Cancer Societys latest data is based on people diagnosed between 1998 -2000 and depending on the stage of diagnosis, a patients odds of living at least 5 years of diagnosis were in the range between 1%-49% for people with nonsmall-cell lung cancer. However our treatments have progressed over the past decade so the outcome might me better for the patients diagnosed today.

CURRENT RESEARCH

Research from the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) informs that besides smoking, there are other factors associated to the development of lung cancer such as the smoke from burning lumber and coal, as well as pollutant particles. A new study has found that tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen breast cancer medication, may reduce an individual's risk of death from lung cancer. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study supports the hypothesis that there is a hormonal influence on lung cancer and that estrogen levels play a role in lung cancer patients' prognosis.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110124073908.htm http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20130712/fda-approves-newdrug-for-advanced-lung-cancer http://www.lungcancer.org/find_information/publications/163lung_cancer_101/265-what_is_lung_cancer http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004529/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18452692