Lung Cancer

This cancer forms in tissues of the lung, usually in the cells lining air passages. Through microscopic diagnosis, this cancer is mainly of two types, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The non-small-cell lung cancer comes from epithelial cells while the small cell lung cancer begins in the nerve cells. These cells can be carried away in the blood or float away in the natural fluid, called lymph that surrounds lung tissues. This cancer is the most preventable cancer as it is mostly related to the tobacco usage.

Common Symptoms:

• Chest Pain
• Weight Loss / Loss of appetite
• Cough that stays for long time and gets worsen over the time along with blood.
• Shortness of breath.
• Fever without a known reason.

Lung Cancer Treatment:

Lung cancer can be diagnosis by chest X-rays, CT scan, sputum cytology for examination of phlegem and biopsy. Depending on the results of the diagnosis, the treatment starts, with the stage of cancer. It may be in initial and severe stage.

• Surgery- Blood tests and spirometry(lung function testing) are very necessary to know whether the patient is well enough to be operated on. Surgical removal of the tumor is generally performed for limited stage (stage I or stage II). In non-small-cell lung carcinoma, surgery usually an option if the cancer is limited to one lung. This procedure includes wedge resection (removal of part of a lobe), segmentectomy (removal of an anatomic division of a particular lobe of a lung), lobectomy (one lobe), bilobectomy (two lobes), or pneumonectomy (whole lung).

• Chemotherapy- It depends on the tumor type. Both NSCLC and SCLC may be treated with chemotherapy. This therapy can stop the growth of cancer cells by killing them or preventing them from dividing. Chemotherapy may be given alone, as an adjuvant to surgical therapy, or in combination with radiotherapy.

• Radiotherapy- For both non-small-cell lung carcinoma and small-cell lung carcinoma patients, smaller doses of radiation to the chest may be used for symptom control. This therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill dividing cancer cells. This therapy can also be given if a person refuses surgery, if a tumor has spread to areas such as the lymph nodes. Radiation therapy generally only shrinks a tumor or limits its growth when given as a sole therapy.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. This cancer is a significant and aggressive primary cancer with a predilection for skeletal metastasis. While there are still significant hurdles to overcome. Once the technologies themselves are refined and the platforms stabilized, we will need to more precisely define how to utilize them in a cost-effective manner and where they fit into a multidisciplinary approach to the lung cancer patient.