November A Lung cancer Month
November is Lung cancer awareness month:
Beware of the signs and symptoms:
Signs and symptoms of lung cancer may include:
a persistent cough (for more than 3 weeks);
coughing up blood or blood-stained phlegm;
chest and/ or shoulder pains;
tiredness and loss of energy;
weight loss (for no obvious reason);
shortness of breath or wheezing;
hoarse voice;
a change in the shape at the end of your fingers (clubbing).
Causes of Lung Cancer:
Lung cancer claims the lives of more men than the combined deaths from prostate and colorectal cancer, the next two most common cancers in males.
Lung cancer is most frequently caused by smoking.
Experts estimate that 80% to 90% of lung cancer fatalities are caused by cigarette smoking.
Additional lung cancer risk factors include second-hand smoke exposure, a family history of lung cancer, radiation therapy to the breast or chest, occupational exposure to asbestos, chromium, nickel, arsenic, soot, or tar, and radon exposure.
Lung cancer risk rises when smoking is coupled with other risk factors.
Types of lung cancer:
There are two main forms of lung cancer—small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the more common form of the disease, accounting for about 80% of diagnosed cases.
The most common subtypes of NSCLC are:
squamous cell carcinoma, which begins in the thin, flat squamous cells;
large cell carcinoma;
adenocarcinoma.
Screening recommendation:
Adults between the ages of 50 and 80 who have a history of 20 packs per year and who now smoke or have quit smoking within the last 15 years are recommended to get a low-dose CT scan every year.
The number of packs of cigarettes smoked daily multiplied by the number of years smoked is known as a pack-year.
A person with a 20-pack-year smoking history would therefore have smoked one pack a day for 20 years.
