Cancer Information

• Find This Online
• Cancer Information
• Contact Us
• 

Enter your search terms Submit search form

4 Causes of Lung Cancer

There are various types of cancer and lung cancer is one of them. The function of lung is to exchange gases between the air and blood. With the help of lung, carbon dioxide goes out of the body and oxygen passes inside the body.

The disease results from an abnormality in the body's basic unit of life, which is the cell. It may occur in any part of the lung. Around 90-95%, lung cancer cases arise from lining cells of the larger and smaller airways. It may also arise from a thin layer of the tissue surrounding the lungs.

Causes:

1. Smoking: Use of tobacco is the main cause of lung cancer. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked each time. Pipe and cigar smoking also cause lung cancer. Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemical compounds many of which contribute to this dreadful disease. The two primary chemicals known to cause this disease is nitrosamines and polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons.

2. Passive smoking also causes lung cancer. Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke from other smokers. Researches show that 24% of non-smokers, who stay around smokers, are at risk of contracting the disease in comparison to non- smokers.

3. Asbestos fibers: The workplace is a common source to the exposure of Asbestos fibers. Due to this reason, use of asbestos fiber is banned in many countries. Asbestos workers who do not smoke have a high risk of developing this disease.

4. Air pollution: Pollution from vehicles, industry and power plants are also some of the causative factors. One percent of lung cancer deaths attribute to inhalation of polluted air. Experts say exposure to polluted air carry a risk similar to passive smoking.

Stages

Stages of this disease refer to the extent to which the affected cell or tumor is spread to the rest of the body.

1. In stage I, it is restricted to the lung.

2. In stage I and II, it spreads to the chest.

3. In stage IV, it spreads from the chest to the rest of the body.

There are two other sub stages:

• Limited stage: This stage is restricted to the area of origin that is the chest.
• Extensive stage: It refers a stage when, the cancer has moved away from the chest to other parts of the body.

Prevention

The most important measure to prevent this disease is to avoid tobacco products. Products that aid to smoking cessation such as nicotine gums, nicotine sprays, and nicotine inhalers will be helpful to quit smoking.

Treatment:

Treatment includes surgical removal of affected cells, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination of both these methods. The decision about which treatment to be given depends to the type and extent of disease spread to the body.

Surgeons remove the tumor in stage I and stage II. People who have an isolated, slow growing tumor undergo such surgery and expected lifetime for such patients is 5 years.

Chemotherapy is the usage of drugs to kill the tumor or prevent it from multiplying. Chemotherapy sometimes is used in a combination of surgery and radiation therapy to treat lung cancer in many patients.

About the Author
Caleb Anderson invites you to visit Find This Online an online resource guide that offers a variety of articles written on different subjects. Browse through plenty of useful articles, information, content and resources on the subject. Visit us Here for more articles on cancer.