Symptoms of Lung Cancer - What to Look For

Symptoms of Lung Cancer are dependent upon the size and area of the tumor in the lungs. Some of the symptoms of lung cancer a person may experience are:

· Zero Symptoms - meaning some people do not experience any symptoms of lung cancer (none) and the only time or way this cancer is found is when an x-ray is made of their chest for a regular examination. A CAT Scan will reveal lung cancer also.

· Symptoms of Lung Cancer - Symptoms related to this specific cancer and signs it is growing and spreading through the delicate tissues of the lungs hindering breathing, causing coughing, shortness of breath, a wheezing in the chest, pain in the chest, blood coughed up. The symptoms of lung cancer if it has reached the nerves could be shoulder pain which feels like it goes down the arm on the outside or the hoarseness from paralyzed vocal cords. The cancer symptoms if cancer has spread to your esophagus can be difficulty swallowing. Pneumonia is another symptom from the obstructed airway and collapse of part of the lung.

· Symptoms of Lung Cancer spreading (to other organs) - This cancer can spread to other areas, and organs of the body. Such as your bones and this symptom is severe pain where the cancer is spreading. Signs that this cancer that has spread to the brain will give symptoms such as blurred vision, headaches, seizures, or even stroke symptoms.

· Symptoms of Paraneoplastic Lung Cancer - or paraneoplastic syndromes accompany this specific cancers frequently and are remote indirect effects of an indirect cancer invasion of the body. The symptoms are new bone forming in such places as your fingertips causing pain, highly elevated blood calcium levels, blood clots, and even low blood sodium levels.

My grandfather died from this cancer and showed some of these very symptoms. If you are experiencing any of the above described symptoms of this cancer, make an appointment to see your physician as soon as possible.

It is recommended to quickly contact your doctor if you experience any of these specific symptoms:
A chronic cough you just cannot shake that only gets worse, no matter what you try.
Coughing up blood.
Bronchitis or respiratory infections that keep coming back and you cannot get over.
ANY chest pain.
Weight loss for no reason
Continual fatigue
All breathing difficulties, if you start wheezing, or a shortness of breath that never leaves.


Some of the above symptoms of this cancer are ones we may casually dismiss, especially during cold/flu season, or even allergy season. Allergies can really hit us hard, I know they do me and they even make you wheeze if you have asthma. As they do with my mother.

However, if you are like my buddy I have known for 30+ years, ever since junior high and have a cough all year-round. If you also smoke like he does and has for years, and wheeze like I noticed him do over the phone the other night while we were just catching up. (Honestly, I am worried about him and his health and hope he quits smoking soon.)

Then, if you are like my buddy, please go see your doctor. What you could be experiencing are the symptoms of lung cancer and they should not be ignored any longer. Please, get help.

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Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a serious condition which is caused by the uncontrolled multiplication of the cells in the lungs. This can spread to other parts of the body in severe condition. The choice from different treatments available like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and so on will depend on the extent of spread and the health conditions of the patient.

While using radiation therapy, high energy beam will be focused on the area affected by cancer. This beam has the ability to damage the DNA of the cancer cells. This will disable the cells from multiplying further. The cells will get destroyed and the possibility of them spreading and affecting other parts of the body will get nullified. This treatment can be classified as external beam radiation and internal beam radiation.

In the former, a machine outside the body will deliver the high energy beam to be focused on the tumor. In the later, a thin tube made of plastic will be inserted in to the body which will act as a passage for the transfer of radioactive material to the tumor.

Radiation therapy will be administered to the patient for an average period of six weeks on a daily basis. This treatment is painless and lasts only for a few minutes in every sitting. Different types of radiation treatment are:

• Palliative radiation: This aims at curbing the growth of cancer cells and reducing the pain associated with lung cancer. This is usually administered in the terminal stage of lung cancer when the aim is to reduce the pain than to treat the cancer. Often, this treatment is recommended if the cancer spreads to the spine or brain and causes harm on a much higher scale compared to the side-effects due to radiation therapy.

• Stereotactic radiation: This radiation therapy delivers high dosage of radiation directly to the tumor in the lung. The success rate of this surgery is more as compared to traditional surgery using incision. Elderly people or those suffering from other ailments are usually recommended this treatment.

• Proton radiation: A high dosage of radiation is delivered to the area housing the tumor. The advantage of this treatment over other radiation therapies is that it does not cause damage to the cells or tissues surrounding the tumor. Proton radiation causes fewer side effects compared to other forms of radiation treatments.

Side-effects of radiation therapy include inflammation in esophagus, radiation infections, pneumonitis, loss of hair, skin problems, radiation poisoning, vomiting, headache, nausea, and lack of appetite.

Lung Cancer Treatments - All That You Need To Know

Lung cancer is a chronic disease. Lung cancer occurs because of uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in our body. In United States, this cancer is held responsible for the number of deaths. Both men and women get affected by this chronic disease and the percentage is increasing day by day. Smoking is the main cause behind this form of cancer.

Speaking about treatments, numerous are accessible but all are not up to the mark. Curing this disease is really very hard but cure is possible. The treatment depends upon the type of cancer, the stage and most importantly the condition of that person suffering from cancer. These three things matter a lot for a doctor before he starts treating the patient.

Most probably, oncologists go for surgery that involves removal of tumor and can be only applied when the malignant growth is localized. Treating the patient suffering from stage I lung cancer is easy compared to that of a person suffering from stage 4. Recognizing the disease at the first stage can provide some relief.

Four types of surgery are basically applied by the doctors- resection, sleeve resection, lobectomy and pneumonectomy. Resection is a procedure that involves the removal of a small part of lung, sleeve resection involves the removal of some parts of bronchus, lobectomy involves the removal of an entire lobe while pneumonectomy involves the removal of entire lung.

Chemotherapy is the next treatment accessible to talk about. It is a procedure where drugs are used to destroy the cells. Patients surviving from stage 3 cancer are prescribed with chemotherapy. This is a very powerful way of treating cancer and most of the patients can't tolerate the treatment resulting in different types of problems or side effects.

Radiation therapy is another way of treating cancer. It involves the procedure in which high-powered energy rays are employed to kill those cells. This procedure is applied or is administered from outside the body. This procedure is also known as external beam radiation.

Have you heard of laser and photo-dynamic therapy? Laser therapy is a unique procedure of treating cancer that involves killing of cancer cells by laser beams. Photo-dynamic therapy is also a way of killing cancerous cells in the body. The procedure is little bit long but works effectively compared to the other treatments.

These are some lung cancer treatments accessible and medical science is trying its best to find out some more treatments to cure this disease.

Cancer Treatment

Cancer is a class of animal disease, medically know as malignant neoplasm, wherein a cluster of cells show unrestrained growth i.e. division beyond the normal limit, intrusion and damage of tissues adjacent to them and spread (via blood or lymph) to other places. This malady is not restricted to just homosapiens but can even affect animals.
Reportedly, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the previous year.

In most of the cases, cancer is identified due to symptoms and its diagnosis is usually confirmed by a pathologist, who is a type of physician specializing in diagnosis of cancer. Suspected people are usually investigated with medical tests like blood test, X-rays, CT scan and endoscopy.

There are various methods for Cancer treatments such as surgery, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and various other methods. The type of method employed depends on the patient's general health and the location and the stage of the tumour spread.
Complete surgical excision is possible in very few cases since the cancerous tissues usually metastasizes to other places in the patient's body before the surgery. Masectomy is the surgical treatment used for treating breast cancer while for prostate cancer, prostatectomy is used. The aim of carrying out the surgery is to remove the tumour or if required the entire affected organ, which is however unfortunately limited to very few cases of small cancer.

Radiation therapy is also known as radiotherapy. It uses ionizing radiation for killing cancerous cells and shrinking the tumors. It damages the genetic material of the cells thereby preventing them from replicating further. The drawback of this methodology of remedial is that it often damages the normal cells in addition to the harmful ones. Though, in most cases the normal ones recover and re-function properly, it leads to permanent damage in some. It is used in treating brain cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and also cancer of the skin, prostate, uterus, stomach, or pancreas. Even lymphoma and leukemia can be treated by radiation.

Cancer can also be treated by Chemotherapy which involves use of drugs which destroy rapidly dividing cells. It interferes in various ways with division of cells and has the potential of harming healthy tissues. However after Chemotherapy these healthy cells repair themselves. High dose Chemotherapy is used for treatment of certain lymphomas and leukaemias.

Targeted Therapy is another medium for cure which employs certain agents which are specific for the cancer cells' deregulated protein. It also involves small peptides which bind to the surface cell receptors surrounding the tumour.

Some cancer growth can be checked by either injecting or obstructing certain hormones. Some hormone sensitive cancers are breast and prostate cancer. Removing estrogen or testosterone is also often used as an additional treatment.

Controlling cancer symptoms is not a stereotypical form of treatment aimed at cancer, but it also determines the standard of life of the victims of cancer, and plays a pivotal role in deciding whether the person would be able to undertake other treatments.

Does the Pink of Breast Cancer Awareness Month Make Women With Cancer Feel Worse?

October is the traditional month for Breast Cancer Awareness. You'll see pink ribbons, pink t-shirts, pink clothing of all types worn by both women and men.

In fact, this year of 2010, the professional football teams of the National Football League have included pink in their football uniforms. Burly lineman and linebackers put pink cleats on their football shoes; quarterbacks and receivers wear pink wristbands and carry pink towels as part of their gear.

Why pink? How did the pink ribbon movement start? And most importantly, does it really help women who already have breast cancer? Or make them feel worse?

How Pink Got Into the Cancer Business
Ribbons have been used to express solidarity on the part of the wearer with the identified cause since the early to late 20th Century. Yellow ribbons are used for troops at war. Red ribbons for those with AIDS. Pink ribbons (and the color pink) express support for those who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

In the fall of 1991, Alexandra Penney, editor-in-chief of Self, a woman health magazine and Evelyn Lauder, of the cosmetic company Estée Lauder, got the idea to create a ribbon. The cosmetics giant distributed those ribbons stores in New York City.

Charlotte Hayley, who battled the disease, produced peach colored ribbons. She sold the ribbons to support cancer prevention. After discussing opportunities with Lauder, Hayley and their lawyers, they a "new" color, pink, was chosen, which became an international symbol for awareness.

Does Pink Really Help Women Who Have Breast Cancer?
There are loud voices of criticism about "Pink Month" and its long term effects for battling breast cancer.

Critics say that promoting pink ribbons as a symbol has not been credited with saving any lives. Others believe that the pink ribbon will fade from popular use and become only a fad. October has become a month when "pink" sales explode. Companies that sell pink merchandise and give a token donation to related charities.

Gayle Sulik, a medical sociologist wrote Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health. She found that while "pink ribbon culture" has brought the illness much attention in the United States, did not improve women's health. Based on eight years of research, analysis and hundreds of interviews with women who had the disease, Ms. Sulik found that cancer rates rise, the cancer industry thrives, corporations profit from the disease, and those with this cancer are stigmatized by the pink ribbon.

How Does Seeing Pink Make Women with Cancer Feel about Themselves?
How does any woman feel when she has a serious illness and everything around her says, "Be Aware of Breast Cancer." In October, 2009 after Cheryl had been diagnosed with DCIS, a Stage 0 level. That October was a difficult month. Pink was everywhere and she was very aware of cancer. She had been diagnosed with it.

Yes, early detection was very important because we had less severe symptoms to deal with. Yet, the awareness month itself did little to support her. Whenever Cheryl went shopping, pink was everywhere. She felt horrible, like she couldn't get a break to live a normal life. Reminders were everywhere, that she was not normal - she had this cancer. She just wanted to hide.

Writing notes of support, using affirming words and spending more time together did a lot more for her spirits than pink ribbons and t-shirts did. Using the Treasuring mindset and approach helped Cheryl feel loved, appreciated and valued on the inside.

So, my questions to you, dear reader, are: What does October Breast Cancer Awareness Month mean to you? How do you treasure women with with illness? What do you write or say to them? And if you have breast cancer yourself, what would you want the important people in your life to write or say to you?

Main Breast Cancer Symptoms and Early Warning Signs

Early diagnosis of breast cancer can result in less damage to the breast tissues, less severe treatment and faster curing. That is why it is particularly important to notice any disturbing signals and visit a doctor on time. Here is an overview of the breast cancer symptoms that a woman is more likely to experience.

This condition is characterized by the formation of lumps in the breast. These are usually painless, but can be felt upon touch. In addition, they sometime create a spiny sensation, even though this is not particularly common. These lumps are hard and are usually persistent after menstruation. They can be felt in the breast as well as in the underarm area.

At later stages of the development of the tumor, the sufferer can feel tenderness in the breast. Pain may also be present, but the sensation can vary from dull and achy to sharp.

A change in the size and contour of the breast is another one of the notable breast cancer symptoms. An uneven increase in size may signal this condition. It is also not uncommon for a flattening to occur in the affected area, even though a lump cannot be felt. Sometimes an indentation can appear, again without a noticeable sign of a lump. Some sufferers feel that they have a small area that resembles marble under the skin. In general, if you notice any area that is distinctively different, you should see a physician.

Another one of the breast cancer symptoms is a change in the skin texture and temperature. Some sufferers with an advanced stage of the condition experience a significant change in the skin of the affected area. It has tiny dents and becomes reddish to resemble orange peel. The area is much warmer to touch than normally.

Some sufferers experience a change in the nipple. This is one of the most easily recognizable breast cancer symptoms. It may become depressed and get an unusual dimpled look. It is also possible for the nipple to have some form of ulceration. It might feel itchy or burning.

In some cases, a discharge from the nipple can also signal the presence of a tumor. Irrespective of the discharges color and texture, you should visit a doctor immediately. This is not normal and even if you do not have a tumor, you might be suffering from another condition.

It is essential for you to call a doctor, if you have any of these breast cancer symptoms.

Breast Cancer

one of the Common kind of Cancer.....Breast Cancer