What to do if I think I have lung cancer?
This type of cancer is one of the most dangerous that regularly affects millions of patients all over the world. If one believes to have lung cancer, then it is important to immediately seek medical aid. Genericvilla offers cancer medications to address your health issues as prescribed by your HCP.
What is Lung Cancer?
Cancer of the lungs originates in the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body. It happens when there is a formation of tumors due to the growth of the cells in the lungs. Foremost, it should be recognized that there are small-cell and non-small-cell lung cancers and the latter tends to transpire more often.
Possible Causes and Dangers
Thus, although smoking is the primary leading factor in lung cancer, non-smokers might also be at risk due to such factors as, asbestos, passive smoking, and other pollutants in the environment. There could also be the chance that genetic causes play a part in such situations.
Various kinds of lung cancer
Lung cancer is the universal name that is given to the two major types of cancer that affect the lungs: SCLC and NSCLC. NSCLC has subcategories; they are adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinoma, and big cell carcinoma, contributing to more than 85% of the cases of lung cancer.
Comparison: Asthma and Lung Cancer
While both of them can cause many problems to the respiratory system, the factors and results of lung cancer and asthma are very different from each other. A blue asthma for inhaler is an apparatus that can be used in the treatment of asthma, sometimes characterized by asthma attacks, which is a chronic ailment that causes inflammation of the bronchi and makes breathing labored.
Instead, lung cancer is a pathological state in which a tumor is formed and the cells of victims’ lungs rapidly and uncontrollably multiply and diverge from the norm. The first one entails that lung cancer is much more serious and demands particular medical applications such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy; while asthma can effectively be managed. To be able to treat patients correctly it is vital to draw a line between the two types of acne.
Identifying the Signs
Lung Cancer Red Flags
Lung cancer’s first signs are quite vague, mimic other respiratory diseases, and might not be obvious at all. The signs that should never be hidden include coughing that persists, breathing difficulties, or dramatic weight loss that has not been planned.
More advanced signs
Some of the signs and symptoms may develop as the disease progresses when it comes to lung cancer and includes chest discomfort, blood in a cough, and recurrent respiratory infections. When such signs and symptoms appear, the disease has advanced and hence requires immediate medical attention.
When to Seek Medical Help
Lung cancer treatment is most effective if done early, therefore detecting the signs of the disease is very important. Smokers or people who have precedents of lung cancer in the family must consult the physician if there is no improvement in a few days.
In this screening tool, an LDCT could diagnose the early stages of lung cancer. Certain populations, for instance, chronic smokers, should undergo these testing.
Procedure for Diagnostics
First Appointment
The first thing to do after thinking that one has the symptoms is to visit a doctor or any health personnel who may ask for the patient’s history and carry out a physical examination. Prepare to describe your signs and any things that could pose a risk to you.
Diagnostic Imaging
Imaging tests such as CT scans and chest X-rays are key to diagnosing lung cancer, much as in the case of COPD. These tests may assist you in determining whether in case you develop any growths in your lungs, they are cancerous.
Approaches to Biopsy
When imaging studies point to the possibility of cancer, which is often the case, most specialists perform a biopsy to confirm it. In a biopsy, a small lung tissue sample is taken out, and under a microscope, it is examined to look for signs of cancer cells.
Lung Cancer Staging
Lung cancer is categorized into four stages: I the least severe and, therefore, the most treatable, and IV suggests that the disease has extended to other organs and is more advanced. Size, nodal involvement, and metastasis are the parameters based on which the staging is done.
Unfortunately, the extent to which a specific therapy will be effective in the treatment of lung cancer depends on the stage of the disease. Once cancer is realized and in a dormant stage, more often than not, surgery may be adequate but once the cancer is advanced, it might need a combination of the above-mentioned practices.
Possible treatments
Surgery
In the early stages, the treatment is be surgical resection of the tumor. The size and location of the tumor are what will inform the surgery that should be done.
Radiation Treatment
Tumour cells die when exposed to high-energy beams in the treatment known as radiation therapy. Alone or complementary to other treatments, it may be prescribed to patients for whom surgery is out of the question.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy means the use of pharmacological procedures to annihilate cancer cells. In the later stages, it is often combined with radiation or surgery for the treatment of lung cancer.
Personalized Treatment
An advanced form of treatment of cancer is known as molecularly focused therapy that targets certain genetic abnormalities in certain cancer cells. This is often used when all the other forms of treatment processes have been employed and have been of no avail.
How to Survive Lung Cancer
Minimizing Adverse Effects
Some of the many possible side effects of lung cancer treatment include; fatigue, stomach upsets, and drowsiness. Therefore, managing these adverse effects is all that will determine whether the quality of life of the patient will be preserved as they undergo this treatment.
Seeking Mental and Emotional Aid
On the psychological and emotional level, the words ‘You have lung cancer’ might be devastating. Blaming oneself or developing guilty feelings should be prevented since the sick person needs support from friends and families, support groups, or counselors in managing the sickness.
Lifestyle modification
If, for example, during the treatment of lung cancer, it is worthwhile to make changes in smoke, in the diet, in physical activity.
Preventive Steps
Quitting Cigarette Use
As it has been established, earlier the best way to minimize the prospect of developing lung cancer is to quit smoking. You are 50% less likely to die from a heart disease if you quit smoking, this applies to lifelong smokers.
Refraining from Carcinogens
To reduce the incidence of lung cancer to a further extent it is advised to avoid other environmental carcinogens such as radon and asbestos. These drugs should be tested at home or in business with a regular frequency.
Consistent Medical Examinations
For lung cancer to be diagnosed early and prevented in high-risk individuals it is wise that the high-risk individuals should have lung cancer screening during normal checkups.
Summary of what to do?
- Some others to look out for are a persistent cough, a hard time breathing, or if you suddenly lose weight for no reason.
- Get treatment immediately; these cannot be mistaken for the symptoms of asthma. To pinpoint the illness, a doctor may recommend some imaging tests and, at times, a biopsy.
- Surgery, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy are possible treatments but only if the disease is detected early.
- Consider a change of your lifestyle, for instance, you should consider quitting and also reducing your intake of the following:
- Thus, particularly for such a population segment that is incredibly vulnerable to lung cancer, it is rather important to go through examinations and screenings.
