Do You Know These Things About Lung Cancer?
By Riley Hendersen
Our lung is one of the main motors of our body. Yet, often it is not given due attention and care, and it remains in the background when it comes to issues of the hearth or brain.
The main function of our lung is to exchange the gases between the air we breathe and our blood. It is through our lung that carbon dioxide is emptied from our body and oxygen is transported to our blood vessels. It is not widely known that the two sides of our lung are not identical to each other. The right lung has three lobes, whereas the left lung has two lobes, and an additional portion which is called the lingula which is like the middle lobe.
Lung cancer is the leading type of cancer causing death among men and women of the world. It is only since the 1930s that cases of lung cancer started to increase. This is mainly due to tobacco consumption, and the much disputed pollution and smog around the globe. 90% of lung cancers are caused by smoking. Recently, governments and states around the globe have raised the price of tobacco dramatically, having some significant effect on societies in cutting down on tobacco smoking.
Some people mistakenly believe that pipe and cigar smoking do not have such a harmful effect on the lungs as cigarettes. Cigar and pipe smokers are at 5% higher risk to die of lung cancer than non-smokers. This ratio is 25% for people smoking cigarettes.
Passive smokers, i.e., smokers who do not smoke themselves but stay in an environment where others smoke, and inhale smoke, are at 24% higher risk of developing cancer (only 1% less than a cigarette smoker.)
Other danger factors in developing cancer are asbestos fibres, radon gas, familial predispositions (genetic), and other lung diseases, along with air pollution.
Lung cancers are categorized into two types. Small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. This distinction is based on the appearance of the cells under microscopic examination and the appearance of tumor cells. The two types of cancers spread and grow in different ways, thus the distinction.
Small cell cancer is the most aggressive and rapidly growing type of cancers, and it makes up 20% of related cancers. It tends to grow first in the larger breathing tubes and grows very fast spreading around a large area. In its initial stage, it is more sensitive to chemotherapy, but it often bears worse prognosis. This type of cancer is mainly related with smoking.
On the other hand, for non-small cell lung cancer, the prognosis is poor. Patients treated with chemotherapy live generally only three months longer than those who do not get treatment. This type is divided into further two types, one starting from the larger breathing tubes but spreading around slower. This means that the size of these tumors varies when diagnosed. 50-60% of non-small cell cancer starts growing around the gas-exchanging surface of the lung. This form is most common for smokers, and along these there are female non-smokers who are mainly affected.
Our lung is a very sensitive organ, it is often the landing place for metastasis (when cancer cells break away from the primary tumor) of cancer originating from other parts of the body. In this case, we name it by the originating part of the body, for example breast cancer.
Cancer is a sly disease. Women can develop ovary cancer from the originating stomach cancer. It strikes the most innocent, the best sportsman, the firmest vegetarian, anyone without mercy. If it takes your lungs, it takes your breath. Do not give it a chance.
For more information on cancer try visiting http://www.cancercondition.com - a website that specializes in providing cancer related information and resources including information on lung cancer.
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