Healthy Inspiration: Lung Cancer
Learn About This Prevalent Killer.
The Healthy Lung
Healthy Inspiration: We live because of Oxygen.
All living beings require oxygen for the body to work properly. Without lungs there is no oxygen. The lungs are made of spongy like tissue. Every tiny surface of this tissue is an exchange platform. As the blood passes by the lung tissue from the body it deposits Carbon Dioxide. That blood goes through the heart and when it returns to the lungs it picks up Oxygen to deliver throughout the rest of the body. Healthy Inspiration: Anything that blocks the tissue in the lungs from interacting with the bloodstream endangers your life.
Lung Cancer Facts
The death rate for women from lung cancer has been rising until the last 5 years or so when the numbers been leveling out. Lung cancer is a very common disease – approximately 213,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with it this year. Lung cancer kills over 160,000 people in the United States each year; more people than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. It is responsible for over a quarter of all cancer-related deaths in the U.S. each year. Approximately 85% of people who are diagnosed with lung cancer will die of it within five years of their initial diagnosis. Possibly because more than three-quarters of lung cancer patients are diagnosed after their disease has spread to other parts of their body, compared to one-half of breast cancer patients.Between 20,000 to 30,000 (1 in 5 women) never-smokers are diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States each year. Never-smokers who develop lung cancer are more likely to be women. Because the five-year survival for this disease is so poor, each year in the U.S. more never-smokers die of lung cancer than do patients of leukemia, ovarian cancer, or AIDS. Approximately 87 percent of all lung cancers in the U.S. effect smokers and former smokers. Although the risk of developing lung cancer does go down after you quit smoking, you are at a significant risk for at least the next 20 years. Women are one and a half times more likely than men to develop lung cancer, even when they smoke fewer cigarettes over a shorter period of time. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh discovered that a gene that accelerates lung cancer growth is more active in females.
AOL Health.com
Healthy Inspiration:
You Are At Risk If:
1. Smokers and former smokers
2. Family history of lung cancer at any age
3. Family history of other cancers that have happened before the age of 50. (the risk of lung cancer increases with age)
4. Radon exposure. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. The Surgeon General of the United States has urged Americans to test their homes for radon exposure.
5. Lung scarring from tuberculosis.
6. Exposure to second-hand smoke, radiation, asbestos, air pollution, or arsenic.
7. Research shows that estrogen may be involved in lung cancer risk in women.
8. African Americans experience the highest incidence of lung cancer, and the highest death rate.
The National Lung Cancer Partnership
is a group of leading doctors, researchers, patient advocates, and lung cancer survivors who are working together to improve treatments for lung cancer patients.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
1. A cough that won't go away
2. Repeated respiratory infections such as pneumonia
3. Chest, shoulder or back pain that won't go away
4. Wheezing without a known cause
5. Difficulty breathing or rough voice
6. Coughing up blood
7. Puffiness in the neck or face
8. Trouble swallowing
9. Unusual weight loss or loss of appetite
10.Feeling very tired or weak
11.Unusual and repeated headaches
12.Seizures
13.Bone pain
These symptoms can be caused by many different diseases, so go to a healthcare professional. Remember, early diagnosis is your best chance.
Healthy Inspiration:If you have any of these symptoms get checked. Your doctor will check your symptoms and ask questions about whether you smoke or have been exposed to another person's smoke or other cancer-causing substances. He or she will also ask about your medical history, including any history of cancer in your family. Lung cancer is usually first found on a chest X-ray or a CT scan.
Treatment for lung cancer includes surgery, anti-cancer medicines (chemotherapy), radiation, or a mix of all three.
Healthy Inspiration: Lower Your Risk
If you smoke, get the help you need to quit. Don't allow embarrassment or pride get in the way. You probably did not choose to begin smoking as a mature, educated adult. Chances are you began smoking as a teenager, rebellious, and before you were able to make healthy life-style choices. Unfortunately, nicotine is as addicting as heroin. Consider speaking to your doctor about screening tests that may be available to you.Healthy Inspiration: resources National Cancer Institute Smoking Quitline
Phone: (877) 448-7848
Internet Address: http://www.smokefree.gov Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS)
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC
Phone: (800) CDC-1311
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco
State quitlines can be accessed here
or by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW).
If you live in an area with high levels of
radon,
consider having your house tested for radon exposure. If radon levels are too high, a device can be installed to reduce them.And as always, eat a well-balanced diet and exercise. Other sources of lung cancer information include: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
800-4-CANCER (800-422-6237)
http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/lung National Women's Health Information Center
(800-994-9662) National Cancer Institute
Cancer Information Service
Phone: (800) 422-6237
http://cis.nci.nih.gov/ American Lung Association
Phone: (800) 586-4872
http://www.lungusa.org/ Cancer.Net
www.4woman.gov/FAQ/lung.html You may return to the Healthy Inspiration main page by clicking here:
Healthy Inspiration
There you may choose from a health topic at the bottom of the page. Clicking
Home Page
will return you to that page.
|
