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Can lung cancer be cured?
Did you know that lung cancer kills more people in the U.S. than any
other cancer? This deadly disease will be diagnosed in 172,570 men
and women this year alone. Lung cancer can be cured if it is caught
early. The key to protecting your health is to know who's at risk
for the disease and how to spot its early symptoms.
What's
your risk?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that
smoking cigarettes is the primary risk factor for the disease. Other
risk factors include:
- Regular
use of cigars and pipes - even if not inhaled
- Secondhand
smoke
- Family
history of the disease
- Exposure
to asbestos or radon gas
- Age - the
average age of people diagnosed with lung cancer is 70
What
can you do?
Talk to your doctor right away if you experience any of these
symptoms and their cause is unexplained:
- A
persistent cough
- Hoarseness
- Chest pain
- Loss of
appetite or weight
- Shortness
of breath
- Wheezing
- Unexplained
fever
- Bloody spit
or phlegm
- Recurring
bronchitis and pneumonia
Luckily, lung
cancer is one of the most preventable cancer around. The easiest
ways to reduce your risk are to avoid secondhand smoke or if you
smoke, quit.
Basic Information
Lung cancers are cancers that begin in the lungs. Other types of
cancers may spread to the lungs from other organs. However, these
are not lung cancers because they did not start in the lungs. When
cancer cells spread from one organ to another, they are called
metastases.
Research has
found several risk factors for lung cancer. A "risk factor" is
anything that changes risk of getting a disease. Different risk
factors change risk by different amounts.
The risk
factors for lung cancer include the following:
- smoking and
being around others' smoke
- things
around us at home or work (such as radon gas)
- personal
traits (such as having a family history of lung cancer)
Symptoms
Different people have different symptoms for lung cancer. Some
people don't have any symptoms at all. About 25% of people with lung
cancer do not have symptoms from advanced cancer when their lung
cancer is found. Lung cancer symptoms may include
- shortness
of breath
- coughing
that doesn't go away
- wheezing
- coughing up
blood
- chest pain
- fever
- weight loss
Other changes
that can sometimes occur with lung cancer may include repeated bouts
of pneumonia, changes in the shape of the fingertips, and swollen or
enlarged lymph nodes (glands) in the upper chest and lower neck.
These symptoms
can happen with other illnesses, too. People with symptoms should
talk to their doctor, especially if they smoke, but even if they
don't. Doctors can help find the cause.
Fast Facts
Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, lung cancer is
- the second
most common cancer for all men in the United States
- the second
most common cancer among white and American Indian Alaska Native
women
- the third
most common cancer among black, Asian/Pacific Islander and
Hispanic women
In 2002 (the
most recent year for which statistics are currently available):
- 100,099 men
and 80,163 women were diagnosed with lung cancer*
- 90,121 men
and 67,509 women died from lung cancer*
- For more
information about lung cancer rates, visit
Statistics.
*Incidence
counts cover approximately 93% of the US population; death counts
cover 100% of the US population. Use caution in comparing incidence
and death counts.
Diagnosis and Treatment
A person’s lung
cancer diagnosis depends on the type of lung cancer present. The two
main types of lung cancer are small cell lung cancer and non-small
cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than
small cell lung cancer. These categories refer to what the cancer
cells look like under a microscope.
The extent of
disease is referred to as the stage. Information about how big a
cancer is or how far it has spread is often used to determine the
stage. Doctors use information about stage to plan treatment and to
monitor progress.
Sources:
CDC
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