What Causes Lung Cancer?

What Causes Lung Cancer?

·         Many cases of lung cancer can be linked to smoking, but other known risk factors for the disease include:

·         Second-hand smoke

·         Exposure to radon or asbestos

·         Family history of lung cancer

·         Approximately 10 percent of lung cancer cases occur in non-smokers.

Symptoms Lung Cancer

Symptoms Lung Cancer

Common symptoms of lung cancer include:

   1.      persistent cough

   2.      breathlessness

   3.      blood-streaked phlegm

   4.      chest pains

   5.      recurring pneumonia

   6.      recurring bronchitis.

Because most of these symptoms are common in smokers who become used to them, people tend to report little more than tiredness and weight loss to their doctor before they're diagnosed with lung cancer.

Key points

1.      Lung cancer is the 5th most common type of cancer in New Zealand.

2.      The vast majority (80–90%) of cases of lung cancer are due to long-term exposure to tobacco smoke

3.      Sadly, it is often found at a late stage when it has already spread to other parts of the body.

4.      As a result, lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer for New Zealand men, and the second most common for women.

5.      The best option is to find lung cancer early by looking out for symptoms, especially in smokers or past smokers and see a doctor straight away.

What is Lung Cancer

Lung cancer

            Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung by the process of metastasis into nearby tissue or other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in the lung, known as primary lung cancers, are carcinomas. The two main types are small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The most common symptoms are coughing (including coughing up blood), weight loss, shortness of breath, and chest pains. 

A study of long-term outcomes in cancer patients found that nearly 1 in every 12  go on to develop other, unrelated cancers, especially lung cancer. According to researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), the findings point to the need for broader monitoring of cancer survivors than that now given. 

Cigarettes contain toxic chemicals including radioactivity and a record of containing coumarin. The term is "Toxic Tobacco Smoke" (TTS). These toxic substances impair the immune system. This combination makes cigarettes a risk factor in lung cancer.

 

During the nineteenth century, a number of physicians had observed TTS-induced lung disease, even lung cancer, incidents. Sort of hard to not observe it, eh?! Contrary to tobacco lobby disinformation to the public.