Lung cancer prevention and treatment, the key is to move forward

by Specialist

From a cough to a recurrence of lung cancer!

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Recently, a touching scene was staged in a hospital in Guangzhou, where an 85-year-old grandmother, supported by her son, emotionally presented a banner to the respiratory team, speaking excitedly in Mandarin with a Hunan accent to the director of Feng Qi school.

In May of this year, Mr. Han, who was already in his eighties, had been coughing for a long time and always felt uncomfortable in his chest when he coughed. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers. After that, Mr. Han embarked on an arduous road to seek medical treatment. First, he was treated in his hometown hospital, but after the treatment effect was not obvious, he came to Guangzhou to seek medical treatment. After the surgery, he had a right 8-9 rib metastasectomy + lung repair, and continued to have pain in his upper right abdomen, requiring daily intravenous flurbiprofen for pain relief, but the pain did not improve significantly.

After spending a lot of money and suffering from various treatments, the pain did not abate. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers. The first time he was admitted to the hospital, he had shortness of breath, white lips, and an oxygen saturation of only 73% without oxygen (the normal value is 95%-99%).

The doctors took into account the recurrence of right lower lung cancer and bone metastasis, combined with lung infection and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and adopted the concept of “treating cancer and lung together, Chinese and western medicine” to treat lung cancer and underlying lung diseases simultaneously, giving Chinese and western medicine treatment such as anti-infection, panting and phlegm, nutritional support, pain relief and anti-tumor.

After the joint efforts of doctors and nurses, the symptoms of shortness of breath and right chest pain improved significantly, and the family was very satisfied with the results of the treatment. The son thought about it and gave his mother an idea, “Let’s send a banner to the medical staff here. So there was this scene at the beginning.

It is said that the road to medical care is difficult, and only Han and his family will understand the pain. The first time I saw it, I was able to see it. How should we prevent it?

Here’s everything you need to know about prevention

Early symptoms of lung cancer

    Cough: It is often easy to be ignored by both doctors and patients. Especially in China, where air quality is poor, cough symptoms are too common and can be easily missed. If a patient’s cough persists for more than two or three weeks, it must be taken seriously. In addition to the need for differential diagnosis with respiratory allergies and respiratory infections, patients who have asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), allergies or gastroesophageal reflux themselves have cough symptoms due to their primary disease and need to be carefully identified when diagnosing. Hemoptysis and hoarseness are also common symptoms of lung cancer.

  1. Shortness of breath on movement: This symptom can easily be attributed to old age, poor health, or obesity. Patients who feel shortness of breath during daily activities without cardiovascular disease need to be screened for lung cancer.

  2. Shoulder, back, chest, and arm pain: A lung tumor may compress a nerve and cause pain in the patient’s shoulder, chest, back, or arm – a symptom that may even precede coughing and shortness of breath. If painful symptoms occur in these areas without a disease-related cause, especially painful symptoms that worsen with coughing and breathing, close attention is needed. Up to 50% of patients with lung cancer have a chest or shoulder pain condition at the time of diagnosis.

  3. Recurrent infections: It is not uncommon for patients with recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis to be diagnosed with lung cancer. Patients are more likely to develop obstructive pneumonia if the tumor is close to the airway. Long-term smoking, environmental pollution, and decreased immunity can also cause bronchitis or even pneumonia, which are also high-risk factors for lung cancer.

  4. Abnormal symptoms or decreased fitness: For example, 1.7% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer experience knee pain in the early stages. In addition a combination of symptoms, such as fatigue, decreased appetite, unexplained weight loss, and even the onset of depression, may suggest lung cancer. Statistics show that 25% of patients with lung cancer have no specific symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and many are detected by CT exams for other reasons.

    5. There are secrets to preventing lung cancer

    1. Refusing to smoke Numerous experimental and clinical studies have shown that tobacco contains carcinogens that cause lung cancer. So the first thing we need to do to stay away from lung cancer is to stay away from tobacco, but also from second-hand smoke and even third-hand smoke.

    2. Reducing indoor pollution Indoor pollution such as indoor radon emitted from decoration materials is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Therefore, to avoid lung cancer, please use environmentally friendly materials as much as possible, and ventilation measures need to be done.

    3. Pay attention to occupational protection For mining areas where radioactive ores are mined, effective protective measures are recommended to minimize the amount of radiation exposure to workers. For workers exposed to carcinogenic compounds, various practical and effective labor protection measures are needed to avoid or reduce the exposure to carcinogenic factors.

      4. Early screening and diagnosis is key

      1. Significance of screening

      Lung cancer in China ranks first in incidence and death rate of malignant tumors, and the 5-year survival rate is only 19.7%, among which the 5-year survival rate is only 5% for stage IV patients and up to 70% for stage I patients. Therefore, early detection, diagnosis and treatment are the most effective methods to improve the survival rate of lung cancer. Screening is an important way to detect lung cancer and precancerous lesions at an early stage. Finding pre-cancerous or early stage lung cancer patients among the many asymptomatic people and giving them precise prevention and treatment is the key to improving lung cancer treatment rates.

      2. Screening population

      There is a national and international consensus that people at high risk for lung cancer should be screened annually for early diagnosis of lung cancer. However, how to target the screening population in China should also be considered in a local context in order to get twice the result with half the effort. A high-risk group for lung cancer in China is defined as those aged ≥40 years with any of the following risk factors:

      (1) Have smoked ≥400 cigarettes (or 20 pack-years), or have smoked ≥400 cigarettes (or 20 pack-years) and quit <15 years;

      (2) History of environmental or high-risk occupational exposure (e.g., asbestos, beryllium, uranium, radon exposure);

      (3) Combined COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)  diffuse pulmonary fibrosis or prior history of tuberculosis;

      (4) Previous malignancy or family history of lung cancer, especially family history of first-degree relatives.

      3. Screening methods

      A 2011 randomized controlled study in the United States showed that screening for lung cancer using low-dose CT of the chest (LDCT) in high-risk groups reduced the death rate by 20%. In addition, LDCT screening technology is simple, easy to perform, inexpensive, less invasive, highly sensitive, highly participatory, and easily accessible, so it is recommended as a reliable basic screening test for lung cancer in high-risk groups.

      Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from malignant tumors in China and accounts for about one-third of the new cases of lung cancer in China each year. Therefore, reducing the incidence and mortality of lung cancer in China is a major public health problem that needs to be addressed, and further promotion and improvement of lung cancer screening and early diagnosis and treatment strategies are essential. means of regular follow-up. In addition, tumor marker testing, bronchoscopy, sputum cytology and artificial intelligence can further improve the accuracy of screening and positive screening rate.