Lung cancer is a malignant tumor that develops from the affected lung epithelium. Modern science tries in every possible way to find methods of treating lung cancer, nevertheless, the death rate from this disease today is 85%.
The main cause of lung cancer, by right, is considered to be smoking. It is known that in tobacco smoke is concentrated a huge amount of carcinogenic substances that adversely affect the chemical processes in the human body and lead to the appearance of a tumor. There is another reason for this disease - lung cancer is a kind of result of a person's lifestyle, his nutrition, habits and many surrounding factors. Annually in our country more than 65 000 cases of lung cancer are registered. Mortality from this pathology accounts for 15% of all cancers. And, the statistics notes that men are more susceptible to lung cancer than women.
Symptoms of lung cancer
The initial stages of lung cancer can take place without symptoms. With the development of the disease, symptoms may differ depending on the place of origin of the tumor - in the bronchus (central lung cancer) or in lung tissue (peripheral lung cancer).
The main symptoms of central lung cancer are:
- prolonged cough;
- pain in the chest during inspiration;
- hoarseness;
- shortness of breath;
- regular lung disease - bronchitis, pneumonia.
With peripheral lung cancer, symptoms are not present for a long time. In most cases, this type of disease in the early stages is detected during a planned X-ray. Significant symptoms are lung cancer - cough, chest pain, fever, appear only with an increase in the tumor in size.
In lung cancer, metastases (secondary foci of the pathological process) quickly appear. With their appearance, there are additional signs of lung cancer - difficulty with swallowing and speech, pain in the organs of the chest cavity. This is due to the fact that the tumor begins to put pressure on nearby healthy organs. The appearance of metastases can cause bone pain, yellow skin, dizziness, weakness. If you experience any of the above symptoms, you should immediately call your doctor.
Diagnosis of lung cancer
Diagnosis of the disease in the early stages is difficult, because the findings do not always fully reflect the picture of the disease. At an early stage, lung cancer is often mistaken for pneumonia.
The main method for detecting lung cancer is X-rays. In addition to X-rays, modern medicine diagnoses lung cancer with the help of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.
There are many auxiliary methods to determine the disease - bronchoscopy, morphological examination, mediastinoscopy.
Types of lung cancer
Doctors classify the disease according to differences in histological studies of tumors: squamous cell lung cancer, small cell, large-cell and glandular cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma is characterized by a slow growth of the tumor and a long absence of metastases. The glandular cancer, too, develops very slowly, but it is characterized by a rapid spread through the blood of a person. Large-cell and small-cell lung cancer develop, in contrast to other species, very quickly. These two forms of the disease are inherent in the early appearance of metastases.
Stages of lung cancer
Distinguish the following stages of lung cancer:
- stage "0" is characterized by accumulation of tumor cells;
- 1 stage. There is a local tumor up to 3 cm in size;
- 2 stage. The tumor may not increase, but lymph node involvement occurs;
- 3 stage. Tumor increases, sprouting occurs in neighboring organs.
- at 4 stages of lung cancer, the tumor can be of any size with the presence of metastasis.
Treatment of lung cancer
There are a number of methods for treating lung cancer:
- Surgical. The doctor performs an operation of lung cancer on the affected organ, during which all tumor cells are removed. The complexity of this method lies in the fact that if the operation did not remove at least 1% of the cancer cells, the disease will resume. The surgical method is highly effective in the early stages of the development of the disease, with the 4th degree of lung cancer this method does not give a high guarantee of a positive outcome.
- Radiation therapy. Treatment of lung cancer is carried out with the help of ionizing radiation.
The effectiveness of the method is quite high, although a large number of side effects are observed. - Chemotherapy. Often used in the treatment of lung cancer and chemotherapy. For this purpose, special preparations are introduced into the patient's body, which suppress cancer cells and, at the same time, do not harm the healthy.
- There are also methods of folk treatment of lung cancer. For the prevention and treatment of the disease using infusions of various herbs and milk. Detailed recipes for the treatment of lung cancer can be found on forums dedicated to this topic.
Cancer is a disease in which every day counts. If there is even the slightest sign of a disease, you need to visit a doctor without delay.