Lung cancer is one of the most serious consequences of smoking!
In a bronchus or lung develops a malignant tumor that develops long without symptoms. In its development, it may invade adjacent anatomical structures (heart, vessels, ribs) or send remote cells in other organs (brain, liver, bone) causing metastasis.
What causes lung cancer?
The main risk factor: smoking (although there are not many smokers who get cancer, it is known that about 85% of patients with lung cancer are smokers). Cigarette smoke is a deadly mixture of carcinogens that can cause cancer sooner or later. Therefore, smokers risk is cumulative, as the smoke for a long time, the greater the risk of cancer. Conversely, those who abandon their smoking risk becoming less of cancer, but that non-smokers reached only after 10 years.
How to show lung cancer?
Unfortunately, lung cancer often begins to manifest when the time has already come a long silence, making the diagnosis is often put in advanced stages. Cough (or changing the character of cough) is an often overlooked symptom of smokers who consider it "normal". Blood streaked sputum or hemoptysis (coughing up blood) are often so alarming that the patient see a doctor the same day. Patients can accuse persistent chest pain, weight loss, lack of appetite, hoarseness recent appearance and no longer passes breathlessness. None of these symptoms is not typical. Often the symptoms may be absent altogether and the problem is discovered during a routine check.
How is the diagnosis?
Chest x-ray may show a tumor in the form of patches of different sizes in one lung. Normal radiograph does not exclude the presence of small tumors, hidden behind the heart, for example. Sometimes there might be a pleural effusion (fluid in the chest), which can be a complication of lung cancer.
Bronchoscopy is an essential investigation for diagnosis. It may reveal the tumor developed within the bronchus, without information about its location and the possibility to intervene surgically.
By bronchoscopy may do a biopsy of the tumor, that can "pick" a fragment of about 1 mm3 modified area which is sent to the pathology lab. You can tell if harvested tissue is cancerous (malignant) and in what type of cell is formed. Bronchial biopsy (like any biopsy) does not cause cancer, it does nothing to highlight existing cancer. In addition, biopsy does not cause "spreaders" cancer.
Computed tomography look better than radiography tumor, its extension allows determination of the presence of neighboring tissues and eventual metastasis. Computed tomography can not replace bronchoscopy but it does not allow biopsy and highlight cancer cells.
Pleural puncture is indispensable when lung is accompanied by pleurisy. The liquid may be often bleeding. The analysis may reveal cells from the cancer cells.
And other tests may be useful: Abdominal ultrasound may reveal liver metastases, bone scintigraphy the bone etc.
Cancer diagnosis is established when there are cancer cells in bronchial biopsy or aspirate secretions during bronchoscopy or pleural fluid.
Tumor staging.
After establishing that it is a lung cancer, the physician must assess the investigation that is the stage of the disease. Since it depends on the choice of treatment according to that outcome. The stage is estimated depending on the size and position of the tumor (T) in this node (N) and metastasis (M). For example, a tumor smaller than 3 cm, which affects only a small bronchus and is accompanied by a small ganglion on the same side lung tumor without metastases is stage II, receiving effective treatment and has a good prognosis. A tumor greater than 10 cm, which affects a large bronchus or trachea, is accompanied by a palpable lymph node in the neck and liver metastases is stage IV, it has few therapeutic options and has a poor prognosis.
Treatment.
Unfortunately, lung cancer is still an unconquered stronghold of modern medicine. Frequency detection and response in advanced cancer treatment makes modest recovery expected to be very rare.
The best treatment consists of surgery (complete exclusion of the cancerous tissue, often a whole lung) followed by cytostatic chemotherapy (addressing possible that already "gone for a walk" but have not yet established metastases).
In each case must be determined if it can be operated. For this, the patient must have an acceptable respiratory capacity (so you have enough breath after surgery) to have a heart healthy enough, to have an acceptable nutritional status, especially as tumor must be in stage allowing operation (from I to IIIa).
Patients who for various reasons can not have surgery are referred to the oncology service which considers whether or not receiving chemotherapy treatment. Many oncology services not accept (for good reason) initiating this aggressive treatment if there is no confirmation of cancer by biopsy or cytology. Cytostatic treatment is given in cycles of 2-3 days every 3-4 weeks. Are commonly used combinations of two drugs in 6 courses. It can be associated and radiation, which is done in sessions in successive periods of 10-15 days, targeted lung or a place of metastases (brain, for example).
Anticancer drugs often give serious side effects: vomiting, bad mood, hair loss, anemia. They can often be overcome with medication symptomatic patient especially with the belief that the disease is more serious than fighting side effects. For this, the patient should be aware of the disease suffer. Therefore, the insistence with which we meet often, the patient's family to hide the truth are not justified.
Patients in advanced stages, with general malaise that does not feed, do not benefit from chemotherapy. In their case the balance between benefit and side effects is clearly in favor of the latter. They benefit from palliative and symptomatic therapy: treatment of pain, cough, dyspnoea, psychological.
Evolution.
Lung cancer alone does not heal. Untreated, it often evolves quite rapidly with increase in symptoms, weight loss, complete lack of appetite, general health deterioration, which goes to death in intervals ranging from several months to a year after diagnosis. However, there are cases that spontaneously develops more slowly, and others in which a complication (such as massive hemoptysis) may cause sudden death. Combined surgical and oncological treatment improves many things, survival improves with years. The treatment is done in an early stage, the chances of survival.
In short...
Early detection of lung cancer patient's chances radical change. Therefore to the doctor should not be delayed if respiratory symptoms.
Smoking is the "executioner" that kills cancer! If other diseases related to smoking more give respite patient "to repent" Lung cancer is a path of no return, so the best prevention of lung cancer is smoking early abandonment.
In a bronchus or lung develops a malignant tumor that develops long without symptoms. In its development, it may invade adjacent anatomical structures (heart, vessels, ribs) or send remote cells in other organs (brain, liver, bone) causing metastasis.
What causes lung cancer?
The main risk factor: smoking (although there are not many smokers who get cancer, it is known that about 85% of patients with lung cancer are smokers). Cigarette smoke is a deadly mixture of carcinogens that can cause cancer sooner or later. Therefore, smokers risk is cumulative, as the smoke for a long time, the greater the risk of cancer. Conversely, those who abandon their smoking risk becoming less of cancer, but that non-smokers reached only after 10 years.
How to show lung cancer?
Unfortunately, lung cancer often begins to manifest when the time has already come a long silence, making the diagnosis is often put in advanced stages. Cough (or changing the character of cough) is an often overlooked symptom of smokers who consider it "normal". Blood streaked sputum or hemoptysis (coughing up blood) are often so alarming that the patient see a doctor the same day. Patients can accuse persistent chest pain, weight loss, lack of appetite, hoarseness recent appearance and no longer passes breathlessness. None of these symptoms is not typical. Often the symptoms may be absent altogether and the problem is discovered during a routine check.
How is the diagnosis?
Chest x-ray may show a tumor in the form of patches of different sizes in one lung. Normal radiograph does not exclude the presence of small tumors, hidden behind the heart, for example. Sometimes there might be a pleural effusion (fluid in the chest), which can be a complication of lung cancer.
Bronchoscopy is an essential investigation for diagnosis. It may reveal the tumor developed within the bronchus, without information about its location and the possibility to intervene surgically.
By bronchoscopy may do a biopsy of the tumor, that can "pick" a fragment of about 1 mm3 modified area which is sent to the pathology lab. You can tell if harvested tissue is cancerous (malignant) and in what type of cell is formed. Bronchial biopsy (like any biopsy) does not cause cancer, it does nothing to highlight existing cancer. In addition, biopsy does not cause "spreaders" cancer.
Computed tomography look better than radiography tumor, its extension allows determination of the presence of neighboring tissues and eventual metastasis. Computed tomography can not replace bronchoscopy but it does not allow biopsy and highlight cancer cells.
Pleural puncture is indispensable when lung is accompanied by pleurisy. The liquid may be often bleeding. The analysis may reveal cells from the cancer cells.
And other tests may be useful: Abdominal ultrasound may reveal liver metastases, bone scintigraphy the bone etc.
Cancer diagnosis is established when there are cancer cells in bronchial biopsy or aspirate secretions during bronchoscopy or pleural fluid.
Tumor staging.
After establishing that it is a lung cancer, the physician must assess the investigation that is the stage of the disease. Since it depends on the choice of treatment according to that outcome. The stage is estimated depending on the size and position of the tumor (T) in this node (N) and metastasis (M). For example, a tumor smaller than 3 cm, which affects only a small bronchus and is accompanied by a small ganglion on the same side lung tumor without metastases is stage II, receiving effective treatment and has a good prognosis. A tumor greater than 10 cm, which affects a large bronchus or trachea, is accompanied by a palpable lymph node in the neck and liver metastases is stage IV, it has few therapeutic options and has a poor prognosis.
Treatment.
Unfortunately, lung cancer is still an unconquered stronghold of modern medicine. Frequency detection and response in advanced cancer treatment makes modest recovery expected to be very rare.
The best treatment consists of surgery (complete exclusion of the cancerous tissue, often a whole lung) followed by cytostatic chemotherapy (addressing possible that already "gone for a walk" but have not yet established metastases).
In each case must be determined if it can be operated. For this, the patient must have an acceptable respiratory capacity (so you have enough breath after surgery) to have a heart healthy enough, to have an acceptable nutritional status, especially as tumor must be in stage allowing operation (from I to IIIa).
Patients who for various reasons can not have surgery are referred to the oncology service which considers whether or not receiving chemotherapy treatment. Many oncology services not accept (for good reason) initiating this aggressive treatment if there is no confirmation of cancer by biopsy or cytology. Cytostatic treatment is given in cycles of 2-3 days every 3-4 weeks. Are commonly used combinations of two drugs in 6 courses. It can be associated and radiation, which is done in sessions in successive periods of 10-15 days, targeted lung or a place of metastases (brain, for example).
Anticancer drugs often give serious side effects: vomiting, bad mood, hair loss, anemia. They can often be overcome with medication symptomatic patient especially with the belief that the disease is more serious than fighting side effects. For this, the patient should be aware of the disease suffer. Therefore, the insistence with which we meet often, the patient's family to hide the truth are not justified.
Patients in advanced stages, with general malaise that does not feed, do not benefit from chemotherapy. In their case the balance between benefit and side effects is clearly in favor of the latter. They benefit from palliative and symptomatic therapy: treatment of pain, cough, dyspnoea, psychological.
Evolution.
Lung cancer alone does not heal. Untreated, it often evolves quite rapidly with increase in symptoms, weight loss, complete lack of appetite, general health deterioration, which goes to death in intervals ranging from several months to a year after diagnosis. However, there are cases that spontaneously develops more slowly, and others in which a complication (such as massive hemoptysis) may cause sudden death. Combined surgical and oncological treatment improves many things, survival improves with years. The treatment is done in an early stage, the chances of survival.
In short...
Early detection of lung cancer patient's chances radical change. Therefore to the doctor should not be delayed if respiratory symptoms.
Smoking is the "executioner" that kills cancer! If other diseases related to smoking more give respite patient "to repent" Lung cancer is a path of no return, so the best prevention of lung cancer is smoking early abandonment.
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