Lung cancer is a disease that starts in the lungs. In the United States, this type of cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer. Smoking will cause a person to have a greater risk in developing lung cancer, increasing the risk as the amount of time smoking and amount of cigarettes smoked each day increases. In addition, increased exposure to secondhand smoke will also increase a person’s chance at developing this disease.
Signs and symptoms of lung cancer tend to show up when the cancer has advanced into the further stages. There are two different types of lung cancer including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which includes many different types of lung cancer, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which primarily occurs in heavy smokers. Treatment options can include surgery to try to remove the cancer, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy, and radiosurgery. There are many common symptoms that are experienced by those with lung cancer:
1. Shortness of breath
The cancer within the lungs can keep growing and start to block the patient’s airway. It also may start to cause fluid in and around the lungs. Both of these will cause the patient to have difficulty breathing and almost feel like they can’t catch their breath.
2. Coughing up blood
This specific type of cancer may cause the airway to bleed, which can at times be severe. Patients may experience coughing and if their airway is bleeding this may cause them to cough up blood.
3. Pain
Pain typically occurs when the cancer is advanced and has spread to other parts of the body.
4. Fluid within the chest
Just like was mentioned under shortness of breath, lung cancer can cause an accumulation of fluid to happen both inside the lungs and in the space that is surrounding the lungs.
5. Spreading to other parts of the body
It is common for lung cancer to spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). Depending on what organ the cancer has spread to and what organ is affected, the cancer can cause the patient to feel many other different types of symptoms, such as nausea and headaches.
6. Stop smoking
While there is no way to guarantee that one won’t get lung cancer, there are steps that can be taken to help prevent this disease. The biggest thing that one can do to try to prevent getting lung cancer is to not smoke and not be around secondhand smoke. If one already smokes, stopping smoking immediately will greatly reduce the risk of getting lung cancer.
Another thing to do is have radon levels in the home checked, as high levels can cause lung cancer and other health issues. A healthy diet consisting of many servings of fruits and vegetables can also reduce the risk of lung cancer as well as other cancers. In addition to this, living an overall healthy lifestyle that also includes exercising most days of the week will help lower the risk of developing lung cancer. Making healthy choices and choosing to not smoke or be around smoke are great ways to help avoid developing lung cancer.
