Cancer Information

Posts Tagged ‘Lung cancer’

Foods to prevent lung cancer: any green leafy vegetables, the darker the better, any fruit or vegetable orange, the more intense the color, better, carrots, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, dark green lettuce, cabbage kale, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, sweet potato, green tea, beans, low fat milk.

Foods that may prolong survival: All vegetables, especially broccoli and tomato.

Do not hesitate a moment, if you are a smoker or former smoker if he lives or shares space with smokers or have any reason to believe that it is vulnerable to lung cancer, treat yourself to eat fruits and vegetables every day, especially carrots, broccoli and other green leafy vegetables.

Surprisingly, an additional carrot a day, half cup of orange vegetables and dark green, a piece of fruit or fruit juice all or more than once a week, could be the difference between getting and not get lung cancer .

Indeed, this small amount appears to reduce by half or more the chance of contracting the disease.

It also appears that eating vegetables after he produces helps fight cancer by reducing the rate of proliferation and prolonging life.

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According to statistics involving all the world, lung cancer is the most kills: even more than breast, prostate, colon, skin and all the others together.

Unfortunately, often the diagnosis is made too late, and for this main reason about 85 percent of people who become ill end up dying from this cause within a period not exceeding five years.

In the United States, for example, and according to the Lung Cancer Alliance, this type of cancer last year has killed more than 160,300 people, or about 440 a day. For this reason, it is necessary to emphasize the need to prevent: and one of the main ways is to avoid smoking, or who already have a bad habit, you stop.

This need is also based on another key finding: according to the National Cancer Institute of the United States, 90 percent of deaths occur in cases in which smoking is directly responsible for the emergence and development of the lung disease.

For this reason, and although researchers and scientists from around the world try to find better ways to detect lung cancer and to establish the genetic warning signs or markers that people have a greater chance of developing this disease, doctors say snuff action against the principal and have proved but only effective weapon against this cancer so deadly.

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If the diagnosis is cancer, your doctor will want to know the arena (stage or extent) of the disease. Staging was performed to determine whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to what parts of the body.

Lung cancer often spreads to the brain or bones. Knowing the stage (stage) of the disease helps the doctor plan lung cancer treatment. Some of the tests used to determine whether the cancer has spread are:

CT scans or CT scan. A computer linked to an X-ray machine creates a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). A powerful magnet linked to a computer produces detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

Radionuclide studies. The scans with radionuclides (radioactive isotopes) can show whether cancer has spread to other organs including the liver. The patient swallows or receives an injection of a mildly radioactive substance. A machine (scanner) measures and records the level of radioactivity in certain organs to reveal abnormal areas.

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To help find the cause of the symptoms, the doctor evaluates the person’s medical history, your history of smoking, exposure to environmental substances or craft and family history of cancer. The doctor also performs a physical exam and may order chest x-rays and other tests. If lung cancer is suspected, sputum cytology (microscopic examination of cells in a sample of phlegm from the lungs that comes from a deep cough) is a simple test that can be useful for detecting lung cancer. To confirm the presence of lung cancer, the doctor needs to examine lung tissue. A biopsy is the removal of a small sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist and can show if a person has cancer. Several procedures can be used to obtain this tissue.

Bronchoscopy. The doctor puts a bronchoscope (a thin tube, light) by mouth or nose until you reach the windpipe to look into the airways. Through this tube, the doctor can collect cells or small tissue samples.

Needle aspiration. A needle is inserted into the tumor through the chest to remove a tissue sample.

Thoracentesis. Using a needle, the doctor removes a sample of fluid around the lungs for cancer cells.

Thoracotomy. Sometimes surgery is needed to open the chest to diagnose lung cancer. This procedure is a major operation that is performed in the hospital.

Researchers have discovered several causes of lung cancer and most are related to the use of snuff.

Cigarettes. Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. Harmful substances, called carcinogens in snuff, damage cells in the lungs. Over time, damaged cells may become cancerous. The probability that a smoker will develop lung cancer is affected by the age at which smoking began, by the time the person has smoked, the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the force with which the smoker inhales. Quitting smoking greatly reduces a person’s risk of developing lung cancer.

Cigars and pipes. People who smoke cigars and pipes have a higher risk of lung cancer than nonsmokers. The number of years a person smokes, the number of pipes or cigars smoked per day and the force with which the person inhales all affect the risk of developing lung cancer. Even the smoking of cigars and pipe do not inhale are at increased risk of lung cancer, mouth and other types.

Snuff smoke in the environment. The possibility of developing lung cancer increases with exposure to tobacco snuff in the air: the smoke in the air when someone else is smoking. The snuff smoke exposure in the environment is called second hand smoking or passive smoking or involuntary.

Radon. Radon is an invisible radioactive gas, odorless and tasteless, that occurs naturally in soil and rocks. It can damage the lungs, which can lead to lung cancer. People who work in mines may be exposed to radon and, in some parts of the country, radon in homes also. Smoking increases the risk of further lung cancer in people who already have the risk from exposure to radon. A kit for home use to measure radon levels in homes is for sale at most hardware stores. The home test for radon is relatively easy to use and not expensive. After correcting the problem of radon, the risk disappears completely.

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The best way to escape dietary lung cancer, whether you smoked or not, is to eat plenty of vegetables, especially those rich in carotenoids, including beta-carotene.

These include carrots, broccoli, spinach, dark green lettuce, pumpkin, sweet potato.

If you smoked or still smoke, the council is much more important, it is vital to eat at least half a cup of vegetables, dark green or deep orange every day once you have stopped smoking. These foods can act positively during the long, slow march toward lung cancer, which lasts for ten years or more after stopping smoking.

The plant chemicals can slow the promotion of cancer and tumor formation.

It also seems a good idea to drink tea, especially green, and eating more legumes, although not proven completely ineffective.

If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, add to your diet more of anticancer agents by eating more vegetables, particularly tomatoes, broccoli and other rich in carotenoids like beta carotene.

The lycopene and lutein, to help your body fight cancer and prolong life.

The reported staging the spread of cancer, determine prognosis, and suggests the best treatment for the lung cancer patient. Although lung cancer is treatable at any stage, only certain stages can be cured.

In general, a lower stage is associated with better prognosis. However, no doctor can predict how a patient will live with lung cancer based only on the stage of disease, because cancer is different in each person and each patient’s response to treatment is different. The classification system is different for lung cancer small cell and non small cell.

1 .- small cell cancer. It is classified as:

• Disease limited: the tumor has not spread beyond one side of the chest. This region can be treated with radiation. It occurs in about 40% of patients.

• Disease spread: the tumor has spread outside the chest cavity. It is approximately 60% of cases. At present the treatment of choice is chemotherapy.

2 .- Non-Small Cell Cancer: It is classified into several stages depending on its scope:

- Stage 0: there is only disease at the microscopic level. Surgery may completely remove the tumor in this stadium.

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There are two main types of lung cancer: non-small lung cancer cell (or non-small) and small cell (or microcytic). The term “small cell” refers to the size and shape of cancer cells as seen under the microscope. Non-smal lung cancer cell originates in the epithelial cells and is the most common type. Lung cancer begins small cell in the nerve cells or hormone-producing cells.

Each of these types of lung cancer grows and spreads differently, and each requires a different treatment. It is therefore important to find out what type of lung cancer a person has to apply the appropriate treatment.

Once the malignant lung tumor begins to grow, it is possible that cancer cells detach. These detached cells can be transported by the blood or lymph. When a cancer cell is apparent from its place of origin and moves to a lymph node or to a distant part of the body through the bloodstream, and there starts to split and form new tumors, we say that the tumor because distant metastases, has metastasized. We then say that the patient has a cancer then spread, with metastatic cancer.

The lymph flows through tubes called lymphatic vessels that drain into a “collecting stations, lymph nodes, found in the lungs (around bronchi) in the center of the chest (mediastinum) and other body parts. The natural flow of lymph from the lungs is toward the center of the chest, which explains why lung cancer often spreads to there.

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Benign and malignant tumors are named for the spot of the tumor originates. Thus, lung cancer begins to develop in the lungs. Some malignant tumors originate elsewhere in the body and spread to the lungs. Are lung metastases. But in this case are not lung cancer itself: keep the name of their place of origin. For example, breast cancer may give lung metastases, but still called breast cancer.

Over 80% of lung cancer cases arising from the use of snuff. But although the snuff is the leading cause and responsible for most cases, anyone can develop lung cancer.

Lung cancer is always treatable, regardless of size, location and extent of spread. It is believed that lung cancer develops over many years, now is time to grow when the symptoms begin to appear that will lead to a diagnosis.

The lungs contain many different cell types. Most of the lung are epithelial cells, a variety of cells that line the airways. The lungs also contain other types of cells such as nerve cells, producing hormones and structural or supporting cells.

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Lung cancer is one of the most serious diseases and one of the most common cancers in humans. In Spain, is a cancer that causes more deaths in men (and ranks third in mortality from cancer in women).

Benign and malignant tumors are named for the spot of the tumor originates. Thus, lung cancer begins to develop in the lungs.

Some malignant tumors originate elsewhere in the body and spread to the lungs. Are lung metastases. But in this case are not lung cancer itself: keep the name of their place of origin. For example, colon cancer can give lung metastases and liver metastases, but still called colon cancer.

Most malignant lung tumors (or cancer) begins in the layer covering the bronchi, although less often arise in other locations, such as the trachea, bronchioles, or alveoli.

The content and articles of this website are written for patients and their families are our proposal to transfer the latest knowledge and advances in science in this disease affected people in simple language that is understandable. These articles in no way intended to replace your doctor, but in any case to help better understand and provide the affected person support at this very difficult to cope with the diagnosis of lung cancer.