Hello, and welcome to the Team Lung thread! My name is PuddingCow, Pudding or cow for short, and I am your Captain!
I look forward to seeing all my team members, and please be patient! I am new to thread up-keep, and I will certainly do my best. If you don't see your name right away, don't fret, I will get you on the list! biggrin
What is Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells. Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and women, is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually, as of 2004. The most common symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing (including coughing up blood), and weight loss.
The most common cause of lung cancer is long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. The occurrence of lung cancer in nonsmokers, who account for as many as 15% of cases, is often attributed to a combination of genetic factors, radon gas, asbestos, and air pollution, including secondhand smoke.
What are the symptoms of Lung Cancer?
* dyspnea (shortness of breath)
* hemoptysis (coughing up blood)
* chronic coughing or change in regular coughing pattern
* wheezing
* chest pain or pain in the abdomen
* cachexia (weight loss), fatigue, and loss of appetite
* dysphonia (hoarse voice)
* clubbing of the fingernails (uncommon)
* dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).
Does smoking cause Lung Cancer?
Across the developed world, almost 90% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. In the United States, smoking is estimated to account for 87% of lung cancer cases (90% in men and 85% in women). Among male smokers, the lifetime risk of developing lung cancer is 17.2%; among female smokers, the risk is 11.6%. This risk is significantly lower in nonsmokers: 1.3% in men and 1.4% in women.
The time a person smokes (as well as how much they smoke) increases the person's chance of developing lung cancer. If a person stops smoking, this chance steadily decreases as damage to the lungs is repaired and contaminant particles are gradually removed. In addition, there is evidence that lung cancer in never-smokers has a better prognosis than in smokers, and that patients who smoke at the time of diagnosis have shorter survival times than those who have quit.
Smokers are the only ones to get Lung Cancer, right?
No. Roughly 10-15% of lung cancer patients have never smoked. That means between 20,000 to 30,000 never-smokers are diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States each year. Because of the five-year survival rate, each year in the U.S. more never-smokers die of lung cancer than do patients of leukemia, ovarian cancer, or AIDS.
Possible non-smoking causes of Lung Cancer include genetic factors, radon gas, asbestos, and air pollution, including secondhand smoke.
How do I prevent getting Lung Cancer?
While in most countries industrial and domestic carcinogens has been identified and banned, tobacco smoking is still widespread. Eliminating tobacco smoking is a primary goal in the prevention of lung cancer, and smoking cessation is an important preventive tool in this process.
I have Lung Cancer. How do I treat it?
Possible treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Surgery itself has an operative death rate of about 4.4%, depending on the patient's lung function and other risk factors. Surgery is usually only an option in non-small cell lung carcinoma limited to one lung, up to stage IIIA. This is assessed with medical imaging (computed tomography, positron emission tomography). A sufficient preoperative respiratory reserve must be present to allow adequate lung function after the tissue is removed.
Small cell lung carcinoma is treated primarily with chemotherapy and radiation, as surgery has no demonstrable influence on survival. Primary chemotherapy is also given in metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma.
Recent improvements in targeting and imaging have led to the development of extracranial stereotactic radiation in the treatment of early-stage lung cancer. In this form of radiation therapy, very high doses are delivered in a small number of sessions using stereotactic targeting techniques. Its use is primarily in patients who are not surgical candidates due to medical comorbidities (additional diseases).
I have Lung Cancer. What is my prognosis?
For non-small cell lung carcinoma, prognosis is generally poor. Following complete surgical resection of stage IA disease, five-year survival is 67%. With stage IB disease, five-year survival is 57%.[124] The five-year survival rate of patients with stage IV non-small cell lung carcinoma is about 1%.
For small cell lung carcinoma, prognosis is also generally poor. The overall five-year survival for patients with small cell lung carcinoma is about 5%. Patients with extensive-stage small cell lung carcinoma have an average five-year survival rate of less than 1%. The median survival time for limited-stage disease is 20 months, with a five-year survival rate of 20%.
Compiled by RelukaHaske. Source: Wikipedia Featured Article: Lung Cancer
FIRST CONTEST RESULTS!
The winners got 25,000g each!
PLEASE CHECK PAGE 7 FOR WINNERS!!!!
Special thanks to blonde lite for the donation, which made this contest possible!!!!
MEET ME ON MARS CONTEST!A spirit and space themed contest!
NEW NOTICE!
I have a winner!!! Congrats to surrealisticXpillow!
Prize:
Nartian Rock 8th Gen.
Special thanks to RelukaHaske for donating the prize!
