Preview

Lung Cancer: Causes and Treatment

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1722 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lung Cancer: Causes and Treatment
The Killer Lung Cancer
When I was 14 my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, which had quickly spread to her bones, then brain. I was so lost and confused; my mother never smoked a day in her life. She was a healthy woman who ate right and exercised regularly, the doctors gave her 6 months to live, and I lost her at 16. Although, there are so many people in the world who do not smoke and develop lung cancer, there’s many ways a non-smoker can get lung cancer: environmental, second hand smoking, as well as some other natural effects that can cause a person to develop lung cancer. 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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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
  • Better Essays

    lung cancer

    • 927 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cited: Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. Lung Cancer. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.…

    • 927 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lung Cancer Research

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of death in both men and women in the US, with over 158,900 deaths in 1999. Worldwide, lung cancer kills over 1 million people a year. Extensive prospective epidemiologic data clearly establish cigarette smoking as the major cause of lung cancer. It is estimated that about 90% of male lung cancer deaths and 75–80% of lung cancer deaths in the US are caused by smoking each year” (Hecht, 1999). Clearly, lung cancer is an important and widespread disease that constitutes a major public health problem. This was not always so. Some 150 years ago, it was an extremely rare disease. In 1878, malignant lung tumors represented only 1% of all cancers seen at autopsy in the Institute of Pathology of the University of Dresden in Germany. By 1918, the percentage had risen to almost 10% and by 1927 to more than 14%. In the 1930 edition of the authoritative Springer Handbook of Special Pathology it was duly noted that malignant lung tumors had begun to increase at the turn of the century and perhaps even more so after World War I and that, possibly, they still were on the increase. It was also noted that while most lung tumors occurred in men, there seemed to be a steady increase in women. Duration of the disease, from being recognized until death, was usually from half a year to 2 years and in practically all cases there had been a long history of chronic bronchitis.…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs. It usually happens in the cells that line the air passages in your lungs. These cells that form in the lungs do not develop into healthy lung tissue, but it divides rapidly and forms tumors. When these tumors grow they make it such a problem that it slowly stops the lungs ability to provide the bloodstream with oxygen. The tumors that remain stable in one spot and do not spread throughout the lungs are called benign tumors. Preventing cancer is such a necessity and an essential component to cancer control plans because an estimated number about 40% of all cancer deaths could have or can be prevented.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lung Cancer

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Lung cancer is “the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs”. These abnormal cells do not carry out the functions of normal lung cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. As they grow, “the abnormal cells can form tumors and interfere with the functioning of the lung, which provides oxygen to the body via the blood”. There are two major types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Staging lung cancer is based on whether the cancer is local or has spread from the lungs to the lymph nodes or other organs. Because the lungs are large, tumors can grow in them for a long time before they are found. Even when symptoms—such as coughing and fatigue—do occur, people think they are due to other causes. For this reason, “early-stage lung cancer (stages I and II) is difficult to detect. Most people with lung cancer are diagnosed at stages III and IV. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 85 percent of lung cancers”(Lung Cancer 101.). The most common form is called Adenocarcinoma.…

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better 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

    First of all, most people get lung cancer. For example, according to the article What Causes Lung Cancer states “That smoking causes about 90% of all lung cancer” (pg. 1). That means smoking causes the majority of lung cancer. For instance, the American Lung Association states “It is a proven fact that you are 23 times more likely for women and 13 times more likely for men to get lung cancer compared to people who don’t smoke.” It is more…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neoplasms Of Lung Cancer

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    a) Primary lung tumors: Lung cancers are divided into two categories based on predominant cell type:…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Lung Cancer Case Study

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A 60-year-old patient presents for a routine checkup. He is a former cigarette smoker with a 60-pack-year smoking history, but he quit smoking 5 years ago. He denies any chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, or weight loss. Which of the following is the most appropriate screening method for lung cancer in this patient?…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Smoking Work Cited

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages

    From this website I gained information on lung cancer and how cigarettes cause more than half of the diagnoses…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chronic disease

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. In this essay we will describe a chronic disease that affects thousands of people every day and that is the lung cancer. We will discuss the risk factors, treatment options and the daily choices we can make to reduce the risk of lung cancer.…

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoke Signals

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My aunt Sharon was of my favorite relatives. We were close to say the least. As the tears ran down my face, at her funeral, I started to see the signals. They were signals of the effects that long term smoking can have on ones’ body. Now, I know what you’re thinking, but she didn’t pass away from lung cancer. Long term use of smoking tobacco can have come with many health risks, other than lung cancer. These risks can have an acute target within the body or be broad spectrum. COPD, cardiovascular disease and other types of cancer are just a few of these risks.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lung Cancer Term Paper

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Isaac Hassan, M. C. (2009, 03 03). Imaging in Lung Cancer Staging. Retrieved 04 06, 2011, from Medscape Reference: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/362919-overview#showall…

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Approximately 402,326 Americans living today have been diagnosed with lung cancer. Lung cancer is a disease in which cancer cells grow in the lungs. There are two types of lung cancer, which includes, non-small cell lung cancer generally grows and spreads more slowly (more common form), small cell lung cancer generally grows more quickly and is more likely to spread to other parts of the body. Lung cancer can happen to anyone and you have many ways of getting lung cancer and i am about to tell you how.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics