Lung cancer

Lung cancer is the condition where abnormal cells grow on both of the lungs or just on one of them. These cells do not form healthy lung tissue, they divide and quickly begin to form tumours which will eventually prevent the lungs from supplying oxygen to the bloodstream. There are two types of lung cancer: Primary and secondary lung cancer. Primary lung cancer is when the cancer has begun in the lungs and secondary lung cancer is when there has been cancer in another part of your body and then spread to your lungs.
Smoking is hugely linked to lung cancer and it is believed to be the main reason and cause. For non-smokers, lung cancer can be caused by outside pollution and various chemicals, genetics also contribute especially if there has been a history of lung cancer in your family.

SYMPTOMS OF LUNG CANCER

If you recognise the symptoms early on and get treated early on, this will stop the cancer from spreading and some early symptoms of it are coughing, chest pain, coughing up blood, unexplainable weight loss, shortness of breath, extreme tiredness or weakness and you will generally be more prone to other infections, such as colds, flu, pneumonia etc. If it isn’t recognised early and does not get treated as it progresses, you may experience other symptoms such as painful bones, headaches, jaundice and bumps on the skin.

Treatments

Your treatment with depend on a variety of factors including your overall health, type and stage of cancer, and what you prefer. With these in mind you and your doctor will come up with a treatment plan.

Surgery

This is a procedure where the surgeon will work to take out the lung cancer as well as some healthy tissue. These can include:

Wedge resection — this is where the surgeon will remove a section of your ling which contains the cancerous tumor as well as some healthy tissue.
Segmental resection — this removes a bigger piece of your lung but not an whole lobe.
Lobectomy — this removes the whole lobe from one lung.
Pneumonectomy — this procedure removes the whole lung.

The surgeon will also take out lymph nodes in your chest so they can test and check them for cancerous signs. You may have to undergo other procedure first before you have surgery in order to shrink the cancer.

Radiation Therapy

This procedure using high powered energy beams from X-rays and protons in order to kill off cancer cells. You will lie on a table while the machine moves and directs radiation at precise points on your body. This can be used before surgery to shrink the cancer but can also be used as a primary treatment. Radiation therapy can relieve pain in those who suffer from advanced lung cancer.

Chemotherapy

This is where drugs are given to you intravenously (IV) or taken orally. This can be a combination of medications and you will normally have to go through several treatments. Chemotherapy can be used before a surgery to shrink the tumor or after surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells but can also be used as a primary treatment. It can also help to relieve pain.

Radio-surgery

This is an intense radiation treatment which points lots of beams of radiation to several difference angles of the cancer. It can take one treatment or a few to complete. This is a good option for those with smaller cancers but can’t have surgery and can be used to treat cancer that has spread.

Targeted Drug Therapy

These medications target the specific abnormalities of cancer cells and then aims to block these abnormalities and kill off the cancer cells. This is most common with those who have advanced or recurring lung cancer.

Immunotherapy

This can use your own immune system to fight the cancer. This therapy interferes with the cancer cells ability to blind your immune system by producing proteins. This is used for those with advanced cancer.

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