Preview

Lung cancer

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lung cancer
Lifestyle Disease And Illnesses

Lung Cancer
Over 2,340 Victorians are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. Lung cancer occurs most often in adults between the ages of 40 and 70 who have smoked cigarettes for at least 20 years. However, up to nine out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking. Lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer in Australia.
What is lung cancer?
The lungs are two organs which are located inside the chest cavity. As we breath in, the air travels down the windpipe (trachea) and moves down two tubes called bronchi, which both end up going to the lung. The tubes divide into bronchioles and then into tiny air sacs called alveoli, they pass through air and collect the waste gas (carbon dioxide). Lung cancers usually start in the cells lining the airways.
How does the disease affect the body?
The disease affects the body by preventing the amount of air going into the lungs and not letting waste get out. The disease also starts killing the lung cells which ends up killing the lung and turning other cells into cancer. These cells also spread to other parts of the body and causes other cancers.
What are the risk factors that may lead to this disease?
There are many different risk factors that may lead to lung cancer such as:
Tobacco smoking
Environmental factors such as passive smoking, radon exposure and occupational exposures, such as asbestos* and diesel exhaust
A family history of lung cancer
Previous lung diseases such as lung fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and pulmonary tuberculosis.
*The use of asbestos was banned in Australia at the end of 2003. Not allowing it to be imported, sold, manufacture, used or reused in Australia. Although this is the case people who have worked with it in the past are more likely to develop it than the rest of the population.
Signs & Symptoms
Common symptoms of lung cancer include:
Persistent cough or a new or changed wheeze (or both)
Breathlessness

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    There are many types of lung cancers. Small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), this classification are based upon the look of the tumor, the cells themselves (“lung Cancer”). These two types of cancers grow and spread in different ways and may have different treatment options, so a distinction between these two types is important (Genndes). SCLC makes up about 20% of lung cancers and is the most aggressive and rapidly growing of all lung cancers (“Lung Cancer”). SCLC is related to cigarette smoking, with only 1% of these tumors occurring in nonsmokers. SCLC metastasize rapidly too to-many sites within the body and are most often discovered after they have spread widely (“Lung cancer”). Referring to a specific cell appearance often seen when examining samples of SCLC under the microscope, these cancers are sometimes called oat cell carcinomas (“lung Cancer”). NSCLC are the most common lung cancers, it’s a cause for about 80% of all lung cancers. NSCLC can be divided into three main types that are named based upon the type of cells found in the tumor: Adenocarcinomas-(a malignant tumor with cells arranged in patterns similar to those of a gland) are the most commonly seen type of NSCLC in the U.S (“Lung Cancer”). They cover up to 50% of NSCLC. While adenocarcinomas are associated with smoking, like other lung cancers, this type is seen as well in…

    • 1722 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lung Condition

    • 743 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pulmonary Fibrosis Pulmonary Fibrosis is when the tissue deep in your lungs becomes scarred. The tissue become thick and stiff. Making it hard for one to catch their breath and not allowing enough oxygen into the blood. Symptoms of this incurable disease are shortness of breath, dry, hacking cough that does not get better, fatigue, weight loss for unknown reasons and clubbing of tips of fingers or toes. To determine if one does have this image test like a chest x ray or maybe a lung function test. Treatment can help the symptoms and help improve the quality of life are oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitations, or a lung transplant.…

    • 743 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The asbestos fibers can also travel through the lung tissue to settle in the outer lining of the lung (the pleura). Over many years they can cause mesothelioma or other lung diseases to develop.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first is the danger that smoking can cause bouts of cancer. Content – content is harmful in cigarettes, such as nicotine activates cells – cancer cells in the lungs. As a result, the cells – cancer cells that will continue to grow and spread in all parts of the organ, so lung – pulmonary rot and can no longer work optimally. In the end they are suffering from Bronchitis. People-people who have been suffering from cancer of the lung is usually difficult in breathing because his…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I. What is the history of Lung Cancer Lung cancer is also called carcinoma of the lung. All the way back from the 18th century. lung is considered one of death since the 1900’s . It’s a type of disease that can kill anyone, may it be smoker or even a non smoker. Although back in the year 1870’s, lung cancer was still a rare disease. Only a shocking 1% of the recorded autopsies were the cause of lung cancer.…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    p3 unit 12 public health

    • 1371 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lung cancer: Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs but is usually in the cells that line the air passages. The abnormal cells do not develop into healthy lung tissue, they divide rapidly and form tumours. It is health concern as "Doctors in Britain are 'missing opportunities ' to spot lung cancer at an early stage," BBC News reports. A study found around a third of people with the condition die within 90 days of their initial diagnosis. http://www.nhs.uk and because there are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer it is hard to diagnose so more people are dying from this cancer. Lung cancer is on the increase especially in women because of the sharp decrease in the incidence of male lung cancer over the past two decades reflects the decline in smoking prevalence among men. ‘Female smokers are also twice as likely to develop lung cancer as male smokers’ http://www.nhs.uk it is on the increase becuase…

    • 1371 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers in smokers. The amount of lung cancer is powerfully connected with cigarette smoking, with about 90% of lung cancers rising ,as a result of tobacco use. The risk of lung cancer rises with the number of cigarettes smoked over time; doctors state to this risk in terms of pack-years of smoking history. Doctors believe smoking causes lung cancer by damaging the cells that mark the lungs. When one breathes in cigarette smoke, which is full of cancer-causing materials, changes in the lung tissue begin almost rapidly. In the beginning one’s body may be able to heal this harm. Even so, with each frequent exposure, normal cells that line one’s lungs are gradually damaged. As time passed, the damage leads cells to act oddly and finally cancer can progress.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoking can cause lung disease to spread by damaging a person’s small air sacs, which are the alveoli that are found throughout the lungs. This happens because smoking destroys cilia, the dirt and pollution stays in your lungs, along with chemicals from cigarette smoke. Smoking can cause many other cancerous diseases just about anywhere in a person’s body. Most people think that it could just be in a person’s lungs, but cancer can form anywhere when smoking is involved. Poisons in cigarette smoke can weaken the body’s immune system, making it harder to kill cancer cells. When this occurs, cancer cells keep growing without being stopped. in a person’s bladder, cervix, colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, and stomach.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    PDHPE SKIN CANCER Cancer is the second largest cause of death in Australia and accounts for approximately 27% of all deaths. Risk factors generally include exposure to sun, poor diet and smoking. Many types of cancer such as skin cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer are easily preventable by early detection and awareness; however, some cancers cannot be prevented.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Examples of leading causes of death in Australia for 2005 are ischaemic heart disease and lung cancer, knowledge of this information allows us to prioritize how much funding goes into preventative measures and curative measures of ischaemic heart disease and lung cancer…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throat Cancer

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throat Cancer Each year, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car accidents, murder, suicide, and fires---combined! The use of tobacco increases the risk of contracting throat cancer. Throat cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers within the United States.…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Asbestos Chemistry

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This can lead to air and soil pollution that leaves the surrounding area contaminated with asbestos, fibers in the soil usually sit on the top which makes it easy for them to be dispersed into the air. Asbestos was in demand during the 19th, but concerns for asbestos related illnesses didn't begin till the beginning of the 20th century. As so, by the end of the 1900’s asbestos was heavily restricted and banned from many countries. Exposure from contaminated infrastructure can be caused by the degrading or demolition of asbestos products, as asbestos becomes a hazard when it become airborne. Building reconstruction or demolition of infrastructure built prior to the 1980 has a chance of containing asbestos products such as; shingles, tiles, insulation, and pipes. So, when dealing with asbestos in homes, professionals should be consulted, to insure asbestos is controlled and does not become a hazard.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cancer

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages

    | Instructor:Email: | Paul A. Delyspdelys@san.rr.com | Required Text: | An online version of College and Career Success, 5th…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A & P Patho Copd

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Anatomy of the lungs: The lungs are in the thoracic cavity on either sides of the heart and are cone shaped. Each lung is divided into superior and inferior lobes. The right lung also has a middle lobe on top of those two. They are spongy air filled organs. The trachea, which is also referred to as the windpipe, conducts air into the lungs through the bronchi. The bronchi are further divided into smaller branches called bronchioles. Those then end in clusters of microscopic air sacs called alveoli. The lungs are covered by a thin tissue layer called pleura, which further acts as lubricants for the lungs to slip with each breath.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics