|
|
Killer Cancers: Clearing
The Air About Lung
Cancer
Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
As the second top cancer
for men and, third for
women, lung cancer kills
1.3 million people
worldwide annually.
One out of every five
persons who died from
cancer had lung cancer.
The lung is a common
place for metastasis
from tumours in other
parts of the body.
The risk of lung cancer
for the smoker is 15 to
25 times more than that
of a non-smoker.
When the smoker stops
smoking, the risk of
lung cancer drops to two
times the risk of a
non-smoker after 10 to
15 years. The best
safeguard against lung
cancer is still to never
smoke; and if you smoke,
you should stop now.
Surgery, radiation and
chemotherapy are the
three main methods of
cancer treatment.
The type of treatment
depends on the size,
extent of the disease,
the type of lung cancer
and the general health
of the patient.
Part of a lung or a
whole lung may be
removed in the treatment
of lung cancer.
Before surgery, the
patient will undergo a
lung function test to
assess the functional
capacity of the existing
lung. After
surgery, these patients
may require assisted
ventilation for a short
period. Physical
activities may also be
limited for a short
period. If the
remaining lung function
is good, the patient
will be able to continue
a normal life.
Certain types of lung
cancer are sensitive to
chemotherapy treatment.
This form of treatment
is increasingly being
used in combination with
surgery or with
radiation. As
newer drugs are
discovered and their
range of efficacy
increases, the use of
chemotherapy will
increase. Side-effects
of chemotherapy such as
nausea, vomiting and
diarrhoea can be
overcome with
medications.
Radiation or the use of
x-rays to treat lung
cancer may be in
conjunction with surgery
or as a palliative
treatment to relieve the
pressure symptoms or
pain caused by the lung
cancer.
Side-effects of
radiation such as
tiredness, skin rash or
sore throat are
transient.
Return
to Top
Risk Factors
|
►
|
|
Tobacco and
second-hand smoke
|
|
|
► |
|
|
► |
|
|
► |
|
Some people who have
develop lung cancer
today have either
stopped smoking
years earlier or
have never smoked
|
|
Return
to Top
Symptoms
|
►
|
|
|
► |
|
|
► |
|
|
► |
|
|
►
|
|
|
► |
|
|
► |
|
Haemoptysis
(coughing up blood)
|
|
|
► |
|
If cancer has
spread, symptoms
include bone pain,
difficulty
breathing, abdominal
or back pain,
headache, weakness,
and speech
difficulties
|
|
Return
to Top
Screening Tests
|
►
|
Chest x-ray or CT
scan of the chest
|
|
► |
Confirmed with a
biopsy
|
|
► |
The location(s) of
all sites of cancer
is determined by
additional CT scans,
PET (positron
emission tomography)
scans, and MRI
(magnetic resonance
imaging)
|
|
► |
Tests to determine
if cancer started in the lung or somewhere else in the
body |
Return
to Top
Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Dated: June 2011
|
Raffles
Medical
Group is
a leading
medical
group and
the largest
private
group
practice in
Singapore.
As a fully
integrated
healthcare
organisation,
the Group
owns and
operates a
network of
family
medicine
clinics, a
tertiary
care private
hospital,
insurance
services and
a consumer
healthcare
division.
Patients of
the Group
enjoy a
continuum of
care, from
having their
most basic
healthcare
needs met
through the
Group’s
islandwide
network of
Raffles
Medical
clinics, to
specialist
and tertiary
care at
Raffles
Hospital. |
Back to
Table of Contents
|
|
|