Lung Cancer Chemotherapy

Archive for April, 2010

One of the challenges of successfully treating lung cancer is to identify the disease while it is still in its early stages. Unfortunately, symptoms rarely manifest until the cancerous cells have begun to spread. This is why many victims remain unaware they have the disease until a doctor performs tests for something else. The problem is, once the cancerous cells have metastasized (i.e. spread to other parts of the body), the condition is more difficult to treat. This is the reason it is critical to identify symptoms of lung cancer as early as possible.This article will describe common warning signs of lung cancer - both while the disease is localized and after it has begun to spread. We'll also explain how minimally invasive lung cancer surgery may be an appropriate solution.Symptoms When The Disease Is LocalizedA common early indication of the cancer is a persistent cough. It is often missed because there are many other possible factors to which it may be attributed. For example, during the colder months, a chronic cough may be blamed on a cold. If a patient suffers from asthma, the cough may be considered a side effect. Even in the event that a patient coughs ...

Lung cancer's early symptoms are quite similar to those of other illnesses, which often makes it hard to diagnose lung cancer until it has progressed to a more advanced stage. The fact that up to 25 percent of people with lung cancer may not exhibit any symptoms further increases the difficulty of procuring an early diagnosis.During the physical exam, a physician will consider factors such as age, occupation and family history to form an understanding of how the patient's background affects their likelihood of certain symptoms being attributable to lung cancer or a more common illness.While a 60-year old male with a history of smoking for four decades is a likely candidate for lung cancer, an 18 year-old female with no history of smoking is much less likely to have the disease.Usually the first noticeable symptom of the disease is a recurring cough, which is a primary symptom in roughly eighty percent of cases. This is commonly known as "smoker's cough," because it is so common in habitual smokers. Nerve endings in the body's airways attempt to remove foreign substances, such as buildup from smoking; lung cancer affects these cells and thus the success of the lung's self-regulating mechanism. If ...