What is Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells living in the airway in one or both of the lungs. It is when the cells lose the ability to continue to grow normally in the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and/or the aveoli have been destroyed or damaged.
What Can People With Lung Cancer Do to Live Longer?
Cancer patients can reduce exposure to tobacco or marijuana smoke, asbestos, air pollution, paint fumes, and radon gas. They can also take medications and go through chemotherapy.
What Does It Feel like to Have Lung Cancer?
People with lung cancer can sometimes feel pain in the chest or ribs. They get a tightening feeling and have a hard time breathing. They often cough and spit up phlegm. These things can become chronic and happen most of the time. Sometimes they have a hard time being understood when they talk. They may also cough up blood, lose weight and have repeated bouts of bronchitis or pneumonia.
How Is Lung Cancer Detected?
In the early stages of lung cancer the person usually does not know because by the time they have symptoms the cancer is often advanced. To know if you have lung cancer, a doctor may order an image of the lung called a CT scan or an X-ray. A doctor may decide to do a biopsy which means they take a little piece of the lung out and look at it under a microscope.
Smoking Related Discovery
Cigarette smoking affects nearly every organ in the body, especially the lungs. Approximately 440,000 deaths, or 1 in every 5 people will die each year in the United States from smoking.
Works Cited
“Cancer, Lung.” Diseases and Disorders, Cavendish Square Digital
www.cavendishsquaredigital.com/article/7680/cancer-lung. Accessed 19 Jan. 2017.
Martin, Laura J. “Lung Cancer Health Center.” WebMD.
http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/. December 4, 2016. Accessed 18, 2017.