Lung cancer may cause other symptoms due to pressure effects. Pressure on the esophagus can lead to difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia). Pressure on the superior vena cava that returns blood from the upper part of the body to heart can lead to a condition called superior vena cava syndrome which is associated with redness and swelling of the upper part of the body. Wheezing and shortness of breath can be caused by direct obstruction of a large airway structure. Tumors close to the heart can infiltrate into the outer covering of the heart called pericardium and may cause accumulation of fluid between the heart and the outer covering of heart (called pericardial effusion).

Bone and joint pain
?Tumors in the apex (called pancoast’s tumors, pancoast’s tumor, pancoast tumor or pancoast tumors) of the lung may invade in to the surrounding nervous structures causing pain in the shoulders or arms. Tumors in these areas are difficult to be seen on a chest X-ray, hence patients who has symptoms suggestive of pancost ’s tumors. Tumors infiltrating into the diaphragm may also produce shoulder pain.

Change in the voice
Change in the voice pattern (hoarseness of voice) can be a symptom of lung cancer. This occurs more commonly with left sided tumors and happens because of the pressure effect on one of the nerves that comes from the chest to the vocal cord (called recurrent laryngeal nerve).

In the early stages of lung cancer, often, you will have no symptoms. It is as the cancer grows that the symptoms begin to appear. Here’s what you should be looking for when you suspect that you have lung cancer symptoms.

Some of these symptoms may include a cough that gets worse or doesn’t seem to want to go away, breathing problems (including shortness of breath or wheezing), a constant chest pain… especially when you cough, at times you may be coughing up blood.

This is accompanied with a hoarse voice, frequent chest infections (such as pneumonia), or an infection that doesn’t go away, feeling fatigued all of the time (feeling very tired all the time), unexplained weight loss, and a loss of appetite.

Be aware that other health problems may also cause some of these same symptoms. Whatever the case, you need to immediately get checked by your doctor.

These conditions are also symptomatic of many other lung problems, so a person who has any of these symptoms should definitely pursue the cause until one is sure of the problem. When a person goes for an exam, the doctor may ask many questions about the person’s medical history, including questions about the patient’s exposure to hazardous substances.

More often than not, a person having symptoms of lung cancer will be given physical exam. If the patient has a cough that produces a sputum (mucus), the mucus itself might be examined for cancer cells. The doctor will order a chest X-ray or specialized X-ray such as the CT scan, which helps to locate any abnormal spots in the lungs. The doctor may insert a small tube called a bronchoscope through the nose or mouth and down the throat, to look inside the airways and lungs and take a sample, or biopsy, of the tumor. This is just one of several ways in which a doctor may take a biopsy sample.

However, more and more doctors are using a form of CT scan in smokers to spot small lung cancers, which are more likely to be cured as compared to a large large tumor. The technique, called helical low-dose CT scan, is much more sensitive than a regular X-ray and can detect tumors when they are very small, which would otherwise not been on a regular x-ray.

We all have heard of lung cancer but how many of us are well aware of its symptoms? The lung cancer is one of the most perilous diseases that kill thousands of Americans every year and each year the number of cases are increasing. With the occurrences of lung cancer on the rise, it is essential that we learn about the basic factors leading to lung cancer and what should be the courses of action in case of lung cancer diagnosis. Here are the basic information regarding lung cancer that will help you to understand how and when it develops and how to steer clear of this killer disease.

Lung cancer is that condition of your lungs where an abnormal reproduction of cells takes place. And it can happen in one or both of your lungs. Sometimes lumps of cancerous cells or the tumors invade the organs. Our lungs allow the oxygen from the air to pass into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide to eliminate from the system. Now any kind of lung disease including lung cancer impairs this function of lungs to transfer oxygen into blood and remove carbon dioxide from it. The result is many kinds of disorders relating to breathing trouble and cough.

Do you know what the most dreadful part of the lung cancer is? One rarely comes to suspect that he or she is suffering from lung cancer until it is too late and goes beyond any kind of treatment. This is because, signs and symptoms associated with lung cancer are never acute or alarming until the later stages of malignancy and it is often at this stage when someone starts to experience the typical symptoms of lung cancer. So it is recommended that if you ever experience any symptom even remotely related to lung cancer, rush to the doctor without delay so that in case of diagnosis of lung cancer you can avail the treatments as early as possible. The earlier the disease is diagnosed; greater are the chances of survival.

So what are the common symptoms of lung cancer? Nagging cough that seems never to end coupled with constant chest pain may be the warning of something being grossly wrong with your lungs. If you are suffering from recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, it may be an indication that you should immediately see an oncologist. The person displaying certain apathy for food followed by a remarkable weight loss may be an indication of lung cancer and the patients of lung cancer often complain of fatigue. However, swelling of neck and face is also one of the symptoms of lung cancer.

Remember lung cancer can be prevented if you give up smoking. So stay away from the cigars, cigarettes, pipes and other tobacco products. Also insist that the smokers should always smoke inside the smoking zone; do not allow the second hand smokes damage your lungs.

Fluid in the lungs. Lung cancer may spread to the inner lining, or outer covering of the lungs (known as plura) and this may result in development of fluid accumulation between the lung and the chest wall (plural effusion). Development of plural effusion may result in increased shortness of breath.

Chest pain. Lung cancer can infiltrate into the chest wall and may cause pain in the chest. Development of chest pain in a high-risk person should alert the physician to the possibility of lung cancer with chest wall invasion, or plural involvement.

In the UK 38,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. There are two types of lung cancer; small cell which occurs in 20% of cases and non-small cell which occurs in 80% of cases. Small cell lung cancer is the most dangerous as it travels through to other parts of the body early on and can get into the bloodstream or lymph system quite quickly. Non small cell lung cancer travels more slowly and if caught early can be successfully cured.

Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer although 10% of people with the disease have never smoked. The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the age of the smoker. If a person stops smoking the risks reduce quickly and after 15 years the chances of developing lung cancer are the same as a non-smoker. Breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke, known as passive smoking, increases the chances of getting lung cancer but the risks are far less than if you smoke yourself. Those who smoke cigars, pipes or cannabis have a lower risk of lung cancer than cigarette smokers but a far greater risk than non-smokers.

Radon gas in high concentrations is believed to add to the risk of developing lung cancer, this is a naturally occurring gas in some areas and you can get a radon detector to check the levels in your home. In rare cases contact with some chemicals and substances such as uranium, chromium and nickel can also cause lung cancer.

The symptoms of lung cancer can include:

A persistent or long standing cough

Chest infection

Increasing breathlessness

Coughing up blood

Loss of appetite and weight

Difficulty swallowing

Excessive tiredness and lethargy

It is important to get any of these symptoms checked out by a doctor but any could be caused by an illness other than lung cancer.

Diagnosis starts with an examination by a GP who may arrange for x-rays and tests to be conducted at a hospital. The hospital doctors may also do a CT scan or spiral CT scan which is a series of x-rays that build up a three-dimensional picture of the inside of the body and can help find the site and size of the cancer; or a Bronchoscopy which is where the inside of the lung airways are examined with a bronchoscope. This is a thin flexible tube which is passed via the nose or mouth into the airways, the doctor can then look through the bronchoscope to check for abnormalities. Photographs and biopsies can be taken at the same time.

Small cell lung cancer is normally treated with chemotherapy which enables the patient to live longer with better control of the symptoms. Unless small cell lung cancer is found very early surgery is not normally done because the cancer will have spread to other parts of the body before being diagnosed. Sometimes radiotherapy is given to the head to prevent the cancer spreading to the brain and in advanced cases of small cell lung cancer it is used to effectively relieve symptoms such as pain.

Non small cell lung cancer is treated differently depending on the stage of the cancer; at an early stage surgery can be used to remove the cancer and is often followed up with chemotherapy. Radiotherapy may also be used on patients not fit enough or choosing not to have surgery. In advanced stages chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used, sometimes a combination of the two. These are used to maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible and relive pain.

Survival rates have improved for non-small cell lung cancer because of advances in combination radiation and chemotherapy treatment. With treatment, 14% of patients can have a 5 years survival rate, a high achievement in lung cancer terms. Unfortunately, most patient will die within 12 to 18 months of diagnosis.

Small cell lung carcinoma is treated primarily with chemotherapy and radiation, as surgery has no quantifiable influence on survival. Lung cancer survival rates are higher the earlier the cancer is diagnosed. However, more than two-thirds of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage and so survival rates for these patients are lower.

It is no wonder that more and more people are turning to alternative treatments and switching to a cancer friendly diet as their last resort. Alternative treatments are cheap and is within the control of the patient and their family members. A major component of alternative medicine lies in what you eat.

The process start with identifying the foods that can cause or worsen cancer. The idea is to stop eating harmful food before you begin to consume specific anti-cancer food. Be prepared to forgo many types of food that are known and not-so-known to contain cancer-causing fungi. Then, eating cancer-friendly food and cancer-curing food can commence to produce optimal results without obstacles.

Cancer can thrive under these 4 situations in our body:

Weak immunity
Acidity
Excessive Toxin
Lack Of Oxygen

To thoroughly eliminate cancer, you have to rectify each and every one of the above scenario. Apart from diet, maintaining an active lifestyle, smoking cessation and living in a smoke-free and asbestos free environment will greatly increase your chance of survival.

There is one indisputable fact about lung cancer — the earlier the disease is detected, the better the chances of curing it. This is why lung cancer screening is of prime importance.

Doctors point out that although the overall survival rate for lung cancer at the five-year mark is only 15%, the survival rate for those whose cancer was detected early and could be surgically treated is as high as 80%. For this reason, some doctors recommend periodic lung cancer screening with chest x-rays.

Once this disease has progressed somewhat, it will spread rapidly to other areas of the lung and to critical organs all over the body. At that stage, surgery is no longer a viable treatment method.

Unfortunately, the early stages of lung cancer do not give rise to any alarming symptoms. Common symptoms include a persistent cough, a tendency to get respiratory illnesses, etc. These symptoms are not linked to lung cancer alone. This is why lung cancer is rarely diagnosed till it is too late.

In this context, regular screening for lung cancer — at least for those who are most at risk of developing it, like smokers — seems like a sensible choice. However, unlike in the case of many other diseases (including other cancers), there is no truly effective screening test available for lung cancer.

In most cases, lung cancer is detected when doing tests like chest x-rays for other health problems. Because of the risks involved, most doctors do not recommend chest x-rays as a routine screening procedure. Many believed (till recently) that chest x-rays can be fairly misleading when it comes to detecting cancer.

This conclusion was based on studies conducted during the 1970s. Those studies showed that chest x-rays were not effective at detecting dangerous, fast-spreading tumors at the earliest stages. Further, those who were detected with relatively slow-growing tumors had to undergo surgery and other treatments that were not really needed.

However, many things have changed since the time those studies were done. Today, x-rays are far more sensitive than they were back then. In addition, there is a battery of refined tests available that can be used to follow up on any problems detected with the x-ray.

A new study is being conducted by the National Cancer Institute on a group of 150,000 healthy adults. This study, sponsored by the American government, divides these 150,000 people into two equal groups — one group is screened annually with x-rays, while the other (forming the control group) does not receive such screening.

The preliminary results show that about doctors found something abnormal in almost 6,000 people. They were followed upon with CAT scans, more x-rays and other diagnostic tests. From among these people, 206 had biopsies done. Eventually, 126 people were diagnosed with cancer. This is only 2.1% of the original group of 6,000 with abnormalities in their x-rays.

The bad news is that the 6,000 represent a large number of false positives. It resulted in unnecessary follow up x-rays, CAT scans, etc. The good news is that out of those detected with cancer, fully 44% were at the earliest stages of the disease — when the cancer is most treatable and the chances of survival highest.

The final results from this ongoing study will only be available some years from now. But based on the preliminary results, it appears that regular lung cancer screening with chest x-rays may help at early detection and a better cure-rate for this disease.

The great majority of lung cancers originate within the walls of the bronchi, the three-like structures of tubes which carry air to the lungs. That is why lung cancers are more correctly know as bronchogenic cancers. The direct cause of this form of cancer, like all other cancers, is unknown. However, there is much evidence to show that cigarette smoking is responsible factor, as well as inhalation of certain irritating dusts (including cobalt and chromates) and fumes. Lung cancer cases have increased, and now account for about 15% of all cancers. The disease occurs in middle life or later, with greater frequency in men.

Symptoms. Symptoms vary with the size and location of the tumor. The patient develops a cough early in the illness. It is usually dry but there may be blood in the mucus. There is chest pain similar to that of pleurisy. The patient is often short of breath and wheezes as he breathes. His finger joints swell painfully. There can be swelling of the face and upper extremities, and swallowing difficulties, depending upon where the tumor located.

Complications. Complications include collapse of the lung, recurrent pneumonias, bronchiectasis, and lung abscess. However, the real danger is the fatal spread of this tumor to other parts of the body.

Prevention. The main hope is to identify the tumor before the symptoms appear. For that reason, all men over 40, and particularly those who smoke, should have routine chest X rays. A patient who has a persistent cough, or spits blood, should notify his doctor promptly. People who have repeated bouts of pneumonia, or a case of pneumonia that does not respond to treatment, should be checked to rule out the possibility of underlying malignant disease. It may also be suspected in any case of unresponding lung disease for which no cause of apparent. Early recognition and surgery to eradicate the disease are vital. Delay that permits, the cancer to spread beyond the confines of the lung is fatal.

Several factors influence lung cancer survival rates. The type of cancer, the stage it is at when diagnosed, and the overall condition of the patient all play a role in determining survival. Cancer survival is usually expressed in terms of a five-year survival rate, which is the percentage of patients with cancer who survive at least five years after their cancer is diagnosed.

Studies have shown that five-year survival rates among non-small cell lung cancer patients vary by stage. Stage 0 patients have the best survival, of close to 50 percent at five years. Approximately one-quarter of stage II patients survive to five years, as compared to eight percent of stage III patients and only two percent of stage IV patients. In general, small cell lung cancer tends to proceed more rapidly to terminal disease. Ten to fifteen percent of patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer, and between one and two percent of those with extensive-stage cancer, survive to five years.

Estimates of cancer survival do not reflect current treatment advances that may lead to better chances of survival, because they are typically calculated for a five-year period that does not include the previous year. Further, each patient responds to treatment in a unique way; aggregate estimates do not account for individual factors that may improve or worsen the likelihood of survival.

The overall number of deaths in the United States from lung cancer rose throughout the 1980s, and began to drop for men in the 1990s. However, a similar decrease has not been observed among women. Over fifty thousand current and former smokers have been enrolled in the National Lung Screening Trial to find out if chest x-rays and CT scans taken before the onset of lung cancer symptoms may improve early diagnosis and therefore survival.