Causes of Lung Cancer Are Mainly Due to Cigarette Smoking

Lung cancer is a respiratory disease. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the United States with more than 170,000 cases being diagnosed each year. The level of occurrences for women is rising rapidly. Unfortunately, early treatment for the disease is rare because early detection is rare.

Risks factors: What are the causes. Facts about this disease. How do you get it?


Cigarette smoking is the main cause of this disease and is believed to be responsible for over 80% of the occurrences. Cigarette smoking is not only the chief cause of this cancerous growth in the lung, it is also the single biggest cause of cancer deaths. Ironically, it is one of the most preventable causes of cancer deaths in our society.



Other causes of malignancy in the lung include over exposure to asbestos, arsenic, beryllium, chromium, coal products, ionizing radiation, iron oxide, nickel, petroleum, uranium, and various other chemicals.

Detecting lung cancer early is difficult. The symptoms of this malignancy include:

Persistent cough

Breathing difficulty

Wheezing and fatigue

Chronic upper respiratory tract infections

Pus or blood-streaked sputum

Chest tightness or chest pain

Repeated attacks of bronchitis or pneumonia

Dealing with the effects of lung cancer and finding a cure for it is rather illusive especially given the fact that early detection is difficult.

Traditional treatment

Surgery

Surgery is the most effective treatment, but only one-half of the cases can be treated by surgery by the time the disease is detected. Surgery is not performed if cancer cells are found in nearby lymph nodes.


Drugs


Radiation and chemotherapy

Radiation is used to treat localized lesions and malignancies not treatable by surgery.
Chemotherapy is especially prescribed for oat-cell carcinoma.

Prevention and recommendation

Early detection of the symptoms is rare. Even though it is highly recommended that proper screening for cancer symptoms be done regularly because early recognition of their symptoms is crucial for successful treatment and recovery, generally, by the time lung cancer symptoms are evident, metastasis has already taken place.

The symptoms for this disease, unfortunately, are usually detected when the disease is already advanced. It is of absolute importance, therefore, that serious efforts at prevention be undertaken.

Preventative efforts that should be undertaken include the following:

Quit smoking. Since cigarette smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer deaths and the most preventable cause of cancer death in our society, cessation of smoking is the single biggest preventive action in combating this lung disease.


Another good practice is to start getting educated about the dangers of not only cigarette smoking but also about the dangers of over exposure to asbestos and environmental irritants.


Adopt a healthy life style

In reiteration, prevention is one's best defense against this disease. By the time the symptoms are noticed, the prognosis is usually poor and the long term survival rate is not good. The statistics for this malignancy are not promising. Even if the disease is localized, the survival rate is only 35% and the overall average survival rate for all persons afflicted with the disease is only 13%.

More detailed information on this topic can be found at Lung Cancer symptoms

Winston Duke is the creator and author of several web sites including womens-health-symmetry.com

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