Learn About Lung Cancer Symptoms

By Sandy Griffin

There are several types of lung cancers, some of which have distinct symptoms, while others are characterized by an absence of any kind of symptoms even in their most advanced stages. This absence of symptoms can make the already difficult task of detecting lung cancer even more difficult.

Here are some of the different types of lung cancer and some of the pertinent facts about each one of them.

The different types of lung cancer are categorized into two basic types: small cell and non-small. Mesothelioma is yet another kind of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs. Some of the more common symptoms include:

-Pain in the chest -A persistent cough that is present for a long time -Wheezing sound while breathing -Shortness of breath -Presence of blood in the sputum -Unexplained weight loss -Fever -Swelling in the face or neck area

Symptoms are typically unnoticeable especially during the early stages of the disease, making the detection of the disease even more complicated than ever and making it difficult to determine whether or not it is necessary to seek medical attention. In the absence of symptoms, knowing the risk factors for lung cancer could help you make a more informed decision.

Considering smoking is one of the major risk factors for contracting lung cancer, giving it up is the first step towards reducing the likelihood of getting any kind of lung cancer. Giving up smoking also lowers the risk of developing other forms of cancer including cancer of the larynx and the throat as well as other parts of the body. A sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet are the other common risk factors.

Studies reveal that almost three thousand people who are non-smokers develop lung cancer every year by inadvertently inhaling second-hand smoke. Unfortunately, despite the fact that no cigarette has touched their lips, they have the same susceptibility rate and the same symptoms as those who smoke.

If you or a loved one suspects the presence of any of the above-mentioned lung cancer symptoms, a visit to the doctor is called for. The fast-multiplying and rapid-spreading nature of the disease, makes early detection all the more important. Though it may not exactly be life-saving, the earlier you detect the presence of any lung cancer symptoms the earlier treatment can be sought, increasing the chances of retarding the progress of the disease. Prevention is of course better than cure and knowing what the risk factors are can help you avoid them, thus lowering your odds of contracting the disease.

Signs of Colon Cancer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandy_Griffin
http://EzineArticles.com/?Learn-About-Lung-Cancer-Symptoms&id=1474073

Searching For the Right Lung Cancer Treatment

By Lester Lee

Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, the next thing you should do is to discuss with your doctors the most suitable lung cancer treatment for you. There are various options available for the treatment of lung cancer, but you will need to discuss these options carefully with your doctors and family before making a decision on the treatment method. Please bear in mind that the earlier the cancer is treated, the better will be your prognosis from this deadly disease.

Surgery is obviously one of the more effective treatment for removing the cancer from the body, however it all depends on how far along the cancer is. CT and PET scans are used to determine is the cancer can be removed through surgery, or if it is too far along and has spread to other areas making it harder to perform surgery. Blood tests and spirometry or lung function testing are also used to see if the patient can be operated on. Surgical procedures include wedge resction or partial removal of the lobe, a lobectomy or removal of one lobe, a bilobectomy or removal of two lobes, and pneumonectomy or the removal of an entire lung. A lobectomy is the most common form of surgery because it reduces the chance of the cancer returning.

Chemotherapy is also used to reduce the risk of the cancer recurring. The kind of chemotherapy used depends on the type of cancer and where it is located in the lungs. Radiotherapy is often used along with chemotherapy.

Another form of lung cancer treatment besides these two is targeted therapy. Gefitinib is one such drug that targets the tyrosine kinase domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor. This has shown to increase the chances of survival in many of the people whom have taken this drug. Erlotinib is another drug that has been shown to increase the survival rate in cancer patients. Both of these drugs have been shown to be very effective in females, Asians and non-smokers.

Becoming diagnosed with lung cancer is a very serious thing to be told. There are several ways the cancer can be treated now but it is important to know all the lung cancer treatment options that are available to you. It is best to get surgery if at all possible, but if the cancer has spread into other areas, surgery is out of the question. Then chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapy can be considered. You should also explore the possibility of using other alternative cancer treatments. However, it is important for you to speak with your doctor the instance you have gotten lung cancer.

Lester Lee is the webmaster of http://www.Cancer-Tumor.info, an informative website that provides the latest advice, info and updates on Lung Cancer Treatment

Visit our site today for more helpful info on Lung Cancer Treatment and other similar topics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lester_Lee
http://EzineArticles.com/?Searching-For-the-Right-Lung-Cancer-Treatment&id=1432095

Human Genome Project For Lung Cancer

By Karl Dorads

The human genome project was started to map the human genome right until the nucleotide level and then identify all the human genes. The genome of human beings is the human genome. A Genome is a full set of chromosomes. Studying this genome can result in a lot of findings that can be applied to cure diseases. One of the primary beneficiaries of this is that the biological changes due to any disease in the genome can be found out and hence therapy can be formulated to battle against cancer due to results from the human genome project for lung cancer.

A study which was the human genome Project for lung cancer was recently conducted by a group of international scientists to study the underlying effects on genes when you have lung cancer. They were effectively trying to map the genetic changes to the lung cancer. The results of this study indicate the presence of a number of undiscovered genes in the lung cancer cells. Apart from this the scientists discovered a critical gene alteration. This provides more targets for therapy. Apart from the increased potential to formulate new strategies for therapy, this increases the knowledge of the biology of lung cancer and thus will be able to answer the question "how does lung cancer begin?" It has served to find the missing pieces of the puzzle and this research is beneficial for other types of cancers too. This is because the findings from this series of tests indicate a general procedure that should be followed for other types of cancer as well.

It is known that lung cancer arises from changes in the DNA that accrue throughout a person's life. Hence studying the human genes and mapping the changes to lung cancer allows the researchers to find out the specific changes that occur in the genes that contribute to lung cancer. It is because of the lack of this knowledge that researchers are not able to find better treatment for cancer. The Human Genome Project for Lung Cancer attempts to bridge this divide and thus make discoveries that can be translated to effective therapy for lung cancer patients. The study conducted by these international scientists has managed to pinpoint the exact gene that regulates the activity of cancer cells. This is a huge step towards understanding the genetic alterations and the effect it has on the cancer. The key goal is to identify vulnerabilities in the cancer cells so that it can be taken advantage of while trying to remove cancer cells from the body. This is possible only by learning as much as possible about the cancer by pinpointing specific genetic changes in the lung. This helps in the drug formulations. With the knowledge that only a select group of cells control cancerous growth, drugs can formulated to specifically target those group of cells hence making the drug extremely effective in removing cancer cells.

This study was just a pilot project for the bigger study to follow. The next Human Genome Project for lung cancer study will try to unearth all the possible genetic causes of lung cancer. The results expected from the next project are expected to be comprehensive and to enhance the knowledge about the genetic causes of lung cancer. It can increase the number of general facts on lung cancer.

You can visit our website for more information about Cancer and Sarcoma. We have a lot of articles about Lung Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Sarcoma Muscle Cancer, ...

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karl_Dorads
http://EzineArticles.com/?Human-Genome-Project-For-Lung-Cancer&id=2016366

Asbestos - Asbestosis, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer

By Michael Russell

Asbestos has many appealing qualities for builders. It is strong, flexible and corrosion resistant. It is also burn resistant and a good insulator. There are not many substances with these qualities and may explain why it was so widely used. It becomes hazardous when asbestos containing materials are disturbed or damaged. Asbestos is made up of microscopic bundles of fibers. When the materials become disturbed or damaged, these fibers separate and may become airborne. These fibers may get into the lungs and that may lead to serious and even fatal diseases. Some of these diseases include:

Asbestosis is a non-cancerous lung disease. Inhaling asbestos fibers for an extended period of time causes it. This disease takes twenty five to forty years to develop. As asbestos fibers become trapped in your lungs, the body will produce an acid to try to eliminate these fibers. The continued production of the acid can eventually scar the tissues in your lungs. An excessive amount of scarring may cause the lungs to function improperly. This can lead to serious breathing difficulties. If asbestosis is left untreated, it may cause cardiac failure. At this time, there is no effective treatment for this disease. People who renovate or demolish buildings that contain asbestos have the greatest risk of getting asbestosis. The chances of getting this disease through physical contact with a person who works with asbestos are minimal. People who worked in naval shipyards were the first ones diagnosed with asbestosis.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the pleura (the outer membrane that encloses the lung and chest cavity) and/ or the peritoneum (the membrane lining the walls of the abdominal cavity). In the United States, there are only about 3000 new cases of this disease annually. Exposure to asbestos has been the cause in all of the cases. The exposure in these cases lasted anywhere from fifteen to thirty years. Unlike other forms of cancer, there is only one known cause of mesothelioma. Studies indicate that people who work in areas that contain asbestos, such as mines, mills, factories, or shipyards, or who manufacture and install asbestos installation are at the greatest risk of getting mesothelioma. You are also at risk if you live with a worker exposed to asbestos or near any area containing asbestos. Studies also indicate that younger people are more likely to contract mesothelioma when they inhale asbestos. This is the reason why people are going to great lengths to protect school children from asbestos exposure.

Many cases of lung cancer can also be attributed to asbestos exposure. Lung cancer is actually the leading cause of death among all of the illnesses caused by asbestos exposure. You can aggravate the effects of lung cancer by about fifty percent if you start smoking. People who work in occupations where they are directly involved in the handling of asbestos are at a greater risk of getting lung cancer. Exposure to both asbestos and another carcinogen, such as cigarette smoke, puts you at greater risk of contracting lung cancer than exposure to asbestos alone. There was a study that indicated that exposure to asbestos and smoke makes you ninety times more likely to contract lung cancer than a person who is not exposed to either. Some of the symptoms of lung cancer include coughing, breathing irregularities, chest pains and anemia. It usually takes fifteen to thirty years of exposure to asbestos to contract lung cancer.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Asbestos

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Asbestos---Asbestosis,-Mesothelioma,-Lung-Cancer&id=640901

Lung Cancer Symptoms

By Candis Reade

Lung cancer is a very deadly disease which costs life of many people every year. Cancer is a deadly disease because it shows almost no symptoms in the early stages. The victim who fall prey to it does not even know that he is suffering from the deadly cancer disease. So, it is important to diagnose lung cancer in an early stage to get rid of it. Though, it is hard to prevent this disease, but the early symptoms of it can be caught to prevent it from further growing. Let us discuss various symptoms of lung cancer which can help in diagnosing it at an early stage.

The first symptom of lung cancer is low rate of breath. The person affected with lung cancer experiences shortness in breath and this symptom is called as dyspnea. Blood coughing is another symptom of lung cancer and it is medically called as hemoptysis. This symptom is generally related with hematemesis which is blood vomiting. The other warning of cancer is experiencing ache during coughing. Any change in the style of coughing can be a sign or symptom of lung cancer. The symptoms like quick weight loss, feeling of excessive exhaustion, and no desire of eating any kind of food stuff are some of the main symptoms of lung cancer. Person suffering with lung cancer may also experience chest pain.

There are other symptoms of cancer which generally show up but can occur in some of the patients. These symptoms include hoarseness in speech and change in voice tone. In medical term hoarseness is known as cachexia. It is a strong indication of lung cancer. The patient suffering from lung cancer experiences pain while swallowing solid food stuff. The victim also experiences swelling on face and also on the neck region. Swelling in neck occurs because of the blockage in lymph nodes and that of face is because of the blockage in main blood vessel. The other symptom of lung cancer is clubbing of fingers or irregularity in fingers. This symptom is very uncommon but can be a big symptom of cancer. Pain in shoulders can also be a symptom of lung cancer. Pain in bones, experiencing weakness of the muscles and eyelids are rare symptoms of lung cancer.

There are some other symptoms too which occur because of the hormones secreted by the lung cancer. These symptoms are extension of the eyes, feeling numbness in body especially hands, fingers and legs. Appearance of lumps on different portions of the skin is another rare symptom of lung cancer. Experiencing severe pain in the abdomen portion is another symptom. Swelling of chest in men is a rare symptom but can occur in some of the patients. Development of lumps in the salivary gland areas is another uncommon symptom of lung cancer.

Candis Reade is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about lung cancer symptoms, please visit Smoking and Cancer for current articles and discussions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Candis_Reade
http://EzineArticles.com/?Lung-Cancer-Symptoms&id=1430802

How to Lower Your Risk of Getting Lung Cancer

By Alan Wighton

It is very rare for lung cancer to only have one cause; we know that because not everybody who smokes cigarettes gets lung cancer. I had an uncle who smoked most of his life and died at the grand age of 99. Fortunately he was smart enough to give up smoking in his sixties. Rather than simply being caused by passing smoke through your lungs, lung cancer is typically triggered by many causes, smoking being the main one. The other causes of lung cancer are nutritional deficiencies, toxins in your environment, our sedentary lifestyle and sometimes emotional conflict.

Now passing smoke through your lungs is not a very clever thing to do, we do it at a young age because we think we're invincible and maybe we are, but as we age we most definitely are not. The biggest health problem with the habit of smoking is, it inhibits the body from absorbing the vitamins and minerals we so badly need to maintain our health. It also irritates the delicate linings of the lungs and cancer will take hold in some part of the body that has been weakened by any damage or irritation.

The food we eat on a daily basis is the foundation of our health. Our diets today have changed vastly and the typical western diet is not known for its health giving qualities. We may think we are eating well but when you consider that we are designed to eat only freshly grown fruit and vegetables, a few whole grains and one or two other items one can see that we have strayed far from a healthy diet. A big percentage of our food intake these days is processed food and nearly all of it is nutritional dead food because of its processing and because it's old. Our poor food choices are most certainly a major contributor to all cancers.

Most of the chemicals we surround ourselves with these days are extracted from crude oil, in other words the petro-chemical industry and they do effect us. 100 years ago there weren't any chemicals but today we are overwhelmed by them. We breathe them in as in exhaust gases from motor vehicles, we use them on our body as in personal care products, even so called natural ones have some chemicals in them, and we take them in directly in the form of food additives. They are also in the homes we live in, because of the many products used in the building industry.

The human body was designed to be physically active and if we neglect this basic function we'll inevitably pay the price in the form of health problems. Some form of exercise on a daily bases is very important to both avoid cancer and to fight cancer. Once again because of the motor car and cheap oil, we seldom get the exercise we so badly need. When we exercise we are enriching our bodies with oxygen and cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygenated environment. That was proven back in 1931.

Emotional conflict can weaken our immune system and that is well recognised. It's because we're holding onto a problem like a personal crises in some form and it's wearing us down. The only solution I can suggest is to seek help to resolve the issues.

Our bodies have amazing self healing powers that can eliminate cancer, but we have to provide the right conditions to allow that to happen. The bottom line is, you need to take charge of your cancer and no one can do it for you. Appropriate diet and lifestyle changes are your first line of defence.

Alan Wighton is an independent health researcher, having spent many years gaining knowledge, particularly on the subject of cancer. If you have found this article helpful and would like to learn more, visit his website where you can download a free article that has been written with facts and information to help people overcome their cancer. http://www.cancerhealed.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Wighton

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Lower-Your-Risk-of-Getting-Lung-Cancer&id=1951505