Lung Cancer
Anna Wason and Aidan Arnold
Definition Of Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer is cells that can’t control growth in one or both of the lungs. The cells do not carry out functions like normal lung cells and don’t develop healthy lung tissue. This cells would eventually form tumors and interfere with the lung on how it performs with providing oxygen to the blood cells.
How Prevalent Is Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is life threatening and kills about ¼ of the people who have cancer and only 14% of cancer related patients have lung cancer. Which is 219,440 people per year, and around ¾ of those people die.
What are the Causes Of Lung Cancer
The cause that happen in lung cancer is mostly cigarettes which is responsible to 87% of lung cancer deaths. The main chemical in cigarettes is tobacco which release a chemical called carcinogens.
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What are the Treatments To Lung Cancer?
If you are suspected with lung cancer they would do a screening and get a sample of your lung tissue to see if you have lung cancer. This is called a biopsy. If you do have lung cancer the treatment to cure it is using chemotherapy, radiation and targeted treatments depending on a number of factors such as length of treatment.
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What are the symptoms of this cancer and how does it affect the people?
Lung cancer start to spread early on. It is very hard to detect it early though. The symptoms range from severe to mild.
Symptoms include
a cough that does not go away
chest pain
shortness of breath
recurrent lung infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia
bloody or brown-colored spit or phlegm (sputum)
persistent hoarseness
significant weight loss that is not due to dieting or vigorous exercise; fatigue and loss of appetite
unexplained fever
Lung cancer can be caused by many diseases and can spread to other parts of the body
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(Hanson Video)
How is it diagnosed?
Doctors with examine the patient fully and look at the throat to make sure it is not any other disease. People who have a history of heavy smoking have an increased risk of lung cancer. Doctors may use different types of x-rays to examine the lungs. Sputum analysis detects 30% of lung cancers. A lung biopsy can also help detect lung cancer. It can be used in a few different ways and is used in some cases to extract a sample of the lung.
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What happens at the cellular and molecular level?
Work Cited
Br Med Bull (2010) 95 (1): 47-61. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldq023 First published online: July 19, 2010
Cherath, Lata, Alison McTavish, and Rebecca J. Frey. "Lung cancer, non-small cell." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. 5th ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2015.Science in Context. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Hanson, David S. Lung Cancer Symptoms. Best Doctors. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec.
2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22zfJS84Wr8>."Lung Cancer." Teen Health and Wellness. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015
Couzin, Jennifer. "Smart weapons prove tough to design. (Cancer Drugs)." Science 298.5593 (2002): 522+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"Lung Cancer 101 | Lungcancer.org." Lung Cancer 101 | Lungcancer.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.