The fog is back, do your best and prepare for the worst!
1.The current situation of lung cancer
Currently, lung cancer is the number one cancer in China, occupying the first place among male cancers and the second place among female cancers (the highest incidence of female cancer is breast cancer). The mortality rate of lung cancer is the highest among all kinds of cancers in the world, and it is also the highest among cancer mortality rates in China.
In addition, environmental pollution and radon gas also play a role in the occurrence of lung cancer.
In the past 20 years, new drugs related to lung cancer have been developing rapidly, giving patients more treatment options.
2.How does smoking cause lung cancer?
Cigarettes contain many carcinogenic substances, which can “disarm” the natural defense of the lungs. These little things grow on the surface of our respiratory tract and, on a daily basis, they sweep toxic substances, bacteria, viruses and other harmful substances out of the lungs through their movement. When you smoke, the cilia don’t work properly, and all the above-mentioned mess of harmful substances will stay in your lungs. In other words, smoking not only inhales carcinogens itself, but also destroys the defense system of the lungs, allowing more harmful carcinogens to successfully reside in the lungs.
3.Symptoms of lung cancer
Lung cancer is insidious and almost asymptomatic in the early stage. That is to say, it may grow quietly in your body, which is why the death rate of lung cancer is so high – because it is difficult to be detected early.
Generally, when it reaches a certain level, the following symptoms may appear.
Prolonged coughing;
Chest pain, especially when breathing deeply;
Shortness of breath and croup in the lungs, which means you can hear the wind blowing through your chest when you breathe;
Coughing up blood in the sputum;
Fatigue.
4.Is there any way to screen lung cancer early?
A type of CT called low-dose spiral CT can screen some people early, but there are false-positive problems with this screening and the industry is debating whether it can detect early enough to change the outcome of the disease.
Regardless, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual CT scan screening for smokers aged 55-80. In addition, smokers who have quit for 15 years or less should also be screened annually as required.
5. Diagnosis of lung cancer
If your doctor thinks you may have lung cancer – for example, if you have a chronic cough with croup – you will be asked to undergo imaging tests, including x-rays or other imaging tests. In addition, a sputum smear will be performed. If any of these two items suggest that you may have lung cancer, then a biopsy may be indicated.
6.What is biopsy?
The doctor will usually use a needle to take a small piece of tissue suspected to be lung cancer, make a specimen and take it to the microscope for observation. The pathologist will observe that specimen to determine whether it is lung cancer or not, and if so, what type of lung cancer it is.
7.The two main types of lung cancer
On the left is small cell lung cancer and on the right is non-small cell lung cancer.
Small cell lung cancer is more aggressive, meaning that it can spread and metastasize more quickly. Whereas small cell lung cancer is several strongly associated with smoking, non-smokers are less likely to develop this disease. Non-small cell lung cancer grows more slowly than small cell lung cancer and accounts for a higher proportion of lung cancers.
8.What does staging mean?
Staging is used to define how far a person’s lung cancer has progressed and spread. stage 0 lung cancer is carcinoma in situ, and early stage lung cancer has no lymph nodes or distant metastases. The specific staging of intermediate and advanced stage lung cancer varies according to the size, shape and degree of infiltration of the tumor.
9.Treatment modalities of early stage lung cancer
If non-small cell lung cancer can be detected early, sometimes surgery can be a good solution. Surgeons can cut out the piece of lung tissue where the non-small cell lung cancer is located, and sometimes even remove the whole lung. Some patients will have chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to get rid of any cancer cells that are left in the body after surgery.
Small cell lung cancer is not usually treated with surgery because most of it has spread by the time it is found.
10.What if the cancer is already in the progressive stage?
If the lung cancer has metastasized distantly, the hope of being cured is very slim. Nevertheless, treatment can help prolong the patient’s life for a period of time and improve the quality of life. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy can reduce the size of the tumor and alleviate the patient’s symptoms, such as bone pain and breathlessness caused by airway blockage.
11.Targeted therapy and immunotherapy
Targeted therapy can be said to be thriving in the treatment of lung cancer, and new drugs are being developed continuously. Some targeted therapy drugs can block the growth of new blood vessels in the tumor and cut off its blood supply. Others affect cell signaling so that the cancer cells can’t divide and replicate, like the one shown in the picture above.
Immunotherapy works primarily with your immune system to fight non-small cell lung cancer. Whether immunotherapy works or not varies greatly between individuals, but when it does, the results can look pretty good.
12. Participate in clinical studies
Clinical trials are often in search of new therapies. Ask your doctor if there are trials available for you to participate in and what consequences to be aware of if you are going to participate. Also, clinical trials are an option for patients who are financially disadvantaged in China because the clinical trials themselves must be free to patients according to state regulations, and some doctors will help financially disadvantaged patients seek trials that they can join.
13. Quitting smoking can be helpful for treatment
The smoking theory of some old smokers is: “If I have lung cancer anyway, I will continue to smoke and the result will not be worse.” In fact, even if you quit smoking after lung cancer, it will help your body. Studies have shown that when comparing patients who quit smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis with those who did not quit, the former had significantly better treatment outcomes than the latter.
14.Second-hand smoke does cause cancer
Secondhand smoke can also cause lung cancer. Secondhand smoke in public, at home or in the office can lead to an increased risk of cancer. Statistics show that the risk of developing lung cancer is 20%-30% higher when married to a smoker than when married to a non-smoker.
15.Lung cancer may also be an occupational disease
Workers who are exposed to uranium, arsenic or other harmful chemicals on a daily basis should pay attention to occupational protection, reduce exposure time and exposure area, and have regular medical checkups. Asbestos is also an important hazard in the manufacture of lung cancer. It was once widely used for soundproofing buildings, and although it has now been withdrawn from the mainstream market, those who worked on it years ago still have a high risk of lung cancer and need regular checkups.
In addition, certain types of work that are prone to respiratory diseases are also more prone to lung cancer than others, such as miners or workers working in workshops with high dust density.
16.How to get rid of radon gas which can cause lung cancer?
Radon gas is a new concept to Chinese people. It exists in the natural environment and can be accumulated indoors, which can increase the risk of lung cancer, especially for smokers (remember we said earlier that smoking will hinder the work of cilia and let harmful substances stay in the lungs).
To remove radon gas, we must first know whether there is radon gas in the surrounding environment, and relevant instruments can detect indoor radon gas concentration. In addition to paying attention to the choice of building materials or the sealing degree of the building floor and other structures during construction, radon gas can generally be solved by ventilation and air purification. It is also necessary to eliminate indoor smoking.
17. Is air pollution similar to second-hand smoke?
In previous years, it was still controversial whether air pollution would lead to lung cancer, but now it is clear and unmistakable – air pollution will lead to lung cancer. Experts believe that car exhaust, factory and power station emissions on the lungs and secondhand smoke on the lungs of the same principle of action.
18.What else can give you lung cancer risk?
Family history is an influential factor in the risk of lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer can be increased by drinking water with high levels of arsenic. In addition, lung cancer can sometimes develop for no apparent reason, and there can be differences in some ethnic groups and some gender differences. In addition, lung adenocarcinoma, a cancer that occurs more often in non-smokers.
19. Quit smoking to prevent cancer
Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer among all cancers. However, if you don’t smoke and you can avoid secondhand smoke from others, your risk of lung cancer and death from lung cancer will be much, much lower. If you smoke, it is recommended that you do whatever it takes to quit, sometimes it takes several attempts to quit, don’t give up and stick with it. The benefit of quitting smoking is not only to reduce the risk of lung cancer for you and others around you, but also to benefit your whole body after successfully quitting smoking.
20.Physical exercise and haze prevention
Lack of physical exercise can also lead to higher risk of lung cancer, and air pollution can also enhance lung cancer. Of course, we do not recommend exercising with a gas mask as in the picture above, but it is beneficial to choose a time or place with good air – such as an indoor exercise with a fresh air system or air purification system installed.