Archive for the 'Signs & Symptoms' Category
August 12th, 2008 by Peter
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Lung cancer kills more men and women than any other cancer does. It occurs most often in people over age 50 who smoked for many years. Lung cancer can develop when the lungs are damaged by repeatedly inhaling smoke (including second hand smoke which is even worst) or other harmful substances including asbestos, radioactive dust, and radon.
Having a combination of risk factors, such as being a smoker who works with asbestos, greatly increases you risks of developing lung cancer. Symptoms of lung cancer are similar to those of other chest and lung problems: chronic cough; shortness of breath; wheezing; hoarseness; repeated lung infections or pneumonia; pain in the chest wass, shoulders, or back; or coughing uppus- filled of bloody sputum. So beware because there may be no symptoms during the early stages. If you smoke, see your physician about any chronic respiratory symptoms and your risks in getting lung cancer.
May 25th, 2008 by Avatar
Promoters of the alternative no-prick alternative to insulin intake have received another blow with industry leaders announcing their fears of detecting several cases of lung cancer in people who were receiving them under clinical trials. This is another in a long list of blows that the product has received and with many pharmaceuticals pulling the plug on research, the outlook seems bleak for the new diabetes treatment option. Many have been searching for alternative treatments for diabetes who have long been plagued by needles they use for administering the drug to supplement their insulin levels. The products were supposed to take away the pain and fuss of using syringes which is still the preferred method of administration.
May 17th, 2008 by Avatar
Lung cancer that has resulted from inhalation of asbestos from the environment or through work related activities are showing that using chemotherapy for treatment is not getting any positive results. Called Malignant Plural Mesothelioma (MPM), the disease is more related to asbestos exposure which causes the lungs to develop lung cancer. The material was hailed as a miracle construction material and was used widely in the West due to heat, electrical and chemical resistance. It was only later that the material was found to induce cancer that had most nations ban the substance from all new building materials, and necessitating the removal of already installed ones from all types of structures. Clean-up crews without proper protection also suffer from the disease and oncologists are finding it hard to find proper treatments of the killer disease.
May 13th, 2008 by Avatar
Premature babies that were delivered way before their bodies have fully developed receive a myriad of drugs to augment their still weak bodies that should have developed further in the mother’s womb. Studies have shown that babies who were delivered prematurely have a higher risk of lung problems due to the inability of their lungs to work properly without the administration of surfactants that are used to prevent their lungs from collapsing. Full term babies have fully developed lungs that can function unassisted but premature babies need the administration of surfactants (substances that prevents the lung’s air sacs from sticking together preventing them from inflating properly to absorb oxygen) to their lungs to get them to function properly. Without them, their lungs would constantly collapse (due to premature development) and can cause death. Current administration methods have shown that they can cause more harm to the infant in later life where lung infections become assured. The development of better administration techniques is underway to minimize the problems associated with their use to help their lungs strengthen in time as they mature.
January 30th, 2008 by Peter
From MedicineWorld.org, here are other signs and symptoms to watch out for:
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).
January 27th, 2008 by Peter
From MedicineWorld.org, here are more some signs and symptoms to watch out for:
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).
January 25th, 2008 by Peter
From MedicineWorld.org, here are more some signs and symptoms to watch out for:
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.
January 24th, 2008 by Peter
Wikipedia gives a clear definition of lung cancer.
Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, 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 the second most common in women, is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually. The most common symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing (including coughing up blood), and weight loss.
Continue reading ‘What is Lung Cancer?’
January 24th, 2008 by Peter
From href=”http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lung/detailed/signs-and-symptoms-of-lung-cancer.html”>MedicineWorld.org, here are some signs and symptoms to watch out for:
Cough
Cough is an important symptom of lung cancer, but it is difficult to distinguish cough associated with lung cancer from cough associated smoking or cough associated with chronic lung conditions like COPD that has resulted from smoking. If a patient who had chronic cough, shows changes in the pattern of cough, possibility of lung cancer should be considered. ?
Continue reading ‘Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer (Part 1)’
