Lung cancer occurs in the body when cells uncontrollably divide in the lungs and this causes the tumors to grow. These tumors can reduce an individual’s ability to breathe and can also spread to other organs in the body. One of the major risk factors for lung cancer is smoking but not everyone who has CA lung mandatorily has history of smoking.
This article will help you learn about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer.
What are the Symptoms of Lung Cancer?
Persons with CA lung may not have any type of symptoms until a later stage. Incase symptoms appear, they can resemble with issues of respiratory infection.
Some Of the Symptoms Include the Following-
- Change in the voice of a person
- Frequent chest infections
- Swelling of lymph nodes in middle of chest
- Pain in the chest
- Wheezing and shortness of breath
- Bone fractures& bone pain
- Headaches
- Coughing with blood
- Appetite of loss and weight loss
- Fatigue in the body
Stages of Lung Cancer;
Staging of cancer describes how much it has spread through the body and severity of the disease. Staging workup helps your doctors to decide on a suitable course of medical treatment.
Screening;
Undergoing regular checkups may be a good idea for people who are at high risk of developing lung cancer. The screening is done with a low-dose CT scan
- Age between 55–80 years
- A person with history of heavy smoking
- Currently smokes or someone who has quit smoking within past 15 years.
How to Diagnose Lung Cancer?
If a person has some symptoms that indicates lung cancer or incase screening shows something that is unusual, Your Doctor may recommend some of the investigations in order to check further. Following are the tests required:
Imaging tests:
X-ray, MRI, CT Scan or a PET Scan may reveal the regions of lung tissue with cancer.
If the disease has spread to other areas, imaging tests can also reveal changes in the bones and in other organs. Scans also help in checking the progress of the treatment given.
Tissue Sampling:
Your doctor may require to do a biopsy in order to confirm diagnosis which is done using a bronchoscope. This can be used to look for lesions and also collect samples for further analysis.
Other Samples:
Lab tests can also reveal the presence of cancer in:
- Pleural effusion, the fluid that is collected around the lungs
- Blood
- Sputum
The above information can help in confirming the cancer and also its type and the stage.
What is the Treatment for Lung Cancer?
The medical treatment shall depend on various factors, including:
- Type of cancer
- Location &stage
- Patient’s overall health
A patient should discuss in detail with treating doctor and the team about the most suitable choice of treatment including the pros & the cons of each available treatment option.
Some Of the Treatment Options Are Mentioned Below:
- Surgery- Removal of a part of the lung of complete removal
- Chemotherapy- This treatment is done using medications to kill cancer cells.
- Radiation Therapy- This is done using high energy rays to target and kill cancerous cells.
- Targeted therapy- This targets a specific behavior in order to stop the growth of tumor.
- Immunotherapy- This helps body fight the cancer.
- Palliative therapy- This line of treatment is for pain relief in order to improve quality of life of the patient.
