Lung Cancer - Prevention
The best ways to prevent or reduce your chances of developing Lung Cancer (and a range of other health related issues) are:
Give up smoking - the sooner the better
Avoid exposure to Second Hand Smoke
Avoid exposure to carcinogenic substances
Avoid exposure to asbestos, radon, and similar substances
Avoid exposure to excessive pollution
Avoid exposure to harmful diseases
Stop smoking - the sooner the better!
Reducing your smoking is better than nothing, but the best option is to stop smoking altogether. Recent research indicates changing to "low tar" and "low nicotine" cigarettes have little, if any, affect on improving the health prospects of a smoker.
Sadly, it appears another generation of smokers have been deceived by profit hungry tobacco companies, believing these "lighter" cigarettes are more "healthy" than the "heavier" cigarettes. The best way to prevent lung cancer and a range of other serious health complications is to stop smoking, or better yet, never start smoking in the first place.
The sooner a person quits smoking the better their prospects for a healthy future. Even if someone has been smoking for many years, it's never too late to benefit from quitting.
Avoid exposure to Second Hand Smoke
Passive smokers may be more likely than smokers to develop lung cancer and other health issues because the smoke is entering their lungs unfiltered. Such Passive Smoking is also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or second-hand smoke.
In Europe, USA, UK, Australia, and many other places in the world, significant steps have been taken in recent times to reduce people's exposure to second-hand smoke by banning smoking on or near restaurants, bars, work places, airline flights, trains, buses etc. As other countries follow suit, the health problems and health costs caused by passive smoking should be greatly reduced.
Avoid exposure to excessive pollution
It is highly unlikely that traffic exhaust, pollution from factories and industries, and so on will ever improve your health. Indeed, there is mounting evidence that exposure to smoke and other by products
Avoid exposure to asbestos, radon, and similar substances
These substances have all been linked to lung cancer and other serious health issues, so avoiding contact with these is good for your health. Most hardware stores sell an easy to use and inexpensive Radon Detection kit which allows people to measure radon levels in their homes.
This allows people to identify any Radon related issues in their homes and take corrective action to remove the Radon. Once the radon is removed, the hazard is gone for good.
To find out if your house or building contains asbestos, you can enlist the services of a licensed professional asbestos inspector. They will complete a thorough inspection and provide recommendations and, if your building contains no asbestos, issue an Asbestos Clearance Certificate.
Avoid exposure to carcinogenic substances
These substances are definitely known to cause cancer, so avoid all contact with these at all costs. Banned carcinogenic substances have been found in tobacco and cigarettes. In addition, there have been numerous cases where carcinogenic substances and banned carcinogenic substances have been found in food products from 3rd world countries.
Avoid exposure to harmful diseases, such as Tuberculosis (TB).
Or, if there is a chance that you could develop these diseases, then ensure that you are vaccinated against them. Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) is a type of bacteria that is used in cancer treatment to stimulate the immune system. It is also used to vaccinate against tuberculosis.
Lung Cancer - Overview
Lung Cancer is a type of cancer that forms in tissues of the lung, usually in the cells lining air passages. Many lung cancers begin in the bronchi though others can start in other parts of the lungs. Lung cancer also has a tendency to form in the glands below the bronchi.
Lung Cancer - Probabilities
Lung cancer causes up to 30% of all cancer related deaths, and it is the 2nd leading cause of death among both men and women in western society. 85% of all lung cancers are caused by a person's smoking habit or just by breathing in the second-hand smoke of others.
Lung Cancer - Screening
At this moment in time, there is no particularly useful single test that can be considered 100% reliable for the early detection of lung cancer. Unfortunately unless someone is undergoing a health screen for something completely unrelated, lung cancer is very often only discovered in the later stages of the disease when it is often too late to do anything but offer palliative treatment.
Lung Cancer - Symptoms
The most common indicators and symptoms of lung cancer include the following: Fatigue Shortness of breath and wheezing (dyspnoea) A cough that doesn't go away and gets worse over time Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis Constant chest pain Coughing up blood (bloody sputum) (haemoptysis) Swelling of the neck and face Fever Loss of appetite and Weight loss (anorexia) Hoarse voice
Lung Cancer Treatment Options - Radiation
In many cases of lung cancer, surgery is not an option. This may be because of the advanced stage of the cancer, the location of the tumor or tumors, or because of the overall general health of the patient. In those cases, the oncologist may suggest radiation therapy to treat lung cancer. Even if surgery is an option, the doctor may suggest irradiation either before therapy to shrink the tumor or after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
Lung Cancer - Trends by Ethnicity, Sex and Race
In the USA and many other western countries, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Lung cancer has been found to be the leading cancer killer among Caucasians, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanic males.