Sudden Desire To Quit Smoking
A surprising study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology found that of the lung cancer patients surveyed, 48% of them had quit smoking prior to their diagnosis, many of them without any difficulty. Although the reason for this isnt fully established, the researchers speculated that lung cancer cells might produce substances that interfere with nicotine addiction which made smoking less desirable.
Radon Gas Kills Tens Of Thousands Of Lung Cancer Patients Each Year
You can only detect radon gas with a radon detection test since it is a colorless and odorless gas. These tests are essential, especially in areas where local conditions lead to abnormally high levels of radon.
Radon gas held in a well-sealed, poorly ventilated indoor space can cause those who breathe it in to be at a greater risk of developing lung cancer. The person who manages the building where radon accumulates is and was responsible for conducting radon testing. If they have not and you developed lung cancer, they may be the party responsible for your cancer-related losses.
For a free legal consultation, call
Easy Screening May Help
If lung cancer is detected at an early stage, when there typically are no symptoms, its more likely to be successfully treated.
Low-dose computer tomography scans have been found to save more lives than chest X-rays when theyre used to screen people with a higher risk for lung cancer.
LDCT scans, which use low amounts of radiation, help identify abnormal areas in the lungs that could indicate cancer.
The American Cancer Societys lung cancer screening guidelines recommend annual LDCT scans for higher-risk people between the ages of 55 and 74 who meet each of the following conditions:
- currently smoke or have smoked within the past 15 years
- have a 30-pack-a-year or more smoking history
- receive counseling to help quit if a current smoker
- told by their healthcare provider of the benefits and harms of LDCT scans
- have access to a facility that performs lung cancer screening
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How Long Do Side Effects Last
Remember that the type of radiation side effects you might have depends;on the prescribed dose and schedule. Most side effects go away within a few months of ending treatment. Some side effects may continue after treatment ends because it takes time for the healthy cells to recover from radiation.
Side effects might limit your ability to do some things. What you can do will depend on how you feel. Some patients are able to go to work or enjoy leisure activities while they get radiation therapy. Others find they need more rest than usual and cant do as much. If you have side effects that are bothersome and affecting your daily activities or health, the doctor may stop your treatments for a while, change the schedule, or change the type of treatment youre getting. Tell your cancer care team about any side affects you notice so they can help you with them.
Common Causes Of Rib Pain
Many cases of rib pain are not serious and resolve with either no or minimal treatment. Other times, rib pain is thought to be a medical emergency that requires immediate attention.
One of the most common causes of rib cage pain is a chest injury or a direct blow to the chest due to traffic collisions, falls, or sports-related contact. This can lead to bruised ribs, broken ribs, pulled muscles, and fractured ribs.
Fractured ribs are cracks or breaks in bones designed to protect the upper body. A fractured rib is also known as a break in cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone.
Lets take a look at the many other causes of rib pain.
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Where Does Lung Cancer Cause Pain
The mortality rate of lung cancer is high since it is often caught lately, when it is less likely to respond the treatment. Sometime it can be painful, too. Since it originally grows in the lung, pain in the chest is the common symptom. It may also cause pain in other parts of the body, especially when it has become advanced!
Understanding cancer pain in general
Cancer pain is common, though not patients with cancer experience this discomfort symptom. Some types of cancer can be more painful.
Even though if the cancer doesnt directly cause pain, the discomfort may come from the treatment! About 1 out of 3 patients undergoing treatment for cancer experience pain and other discomfort symptoms.
The chance to have cancer pain increases if the cancer has become advanced. Even it can be more painful, too. However this can vary from patient to patient.
It occurs in many different ways. It may be achy, dull, or sharp. The intensity and severity vary, too which could be severe, moderate, mild, intermittent, or constant.
How does cancer pain occur? It can be a result from the cancer itself or other things associated with cancer .
In most cases, it is caused by the cancerous tumor pressing on nerves, bones, or particular organs in the body. Over time, tumor can grow and become large enough to cause more pressure on the surrounding tissues or organs.
At advanced stage, the pain can occur from the primary cancerous tumor itself or the secondary cancerous tumor .
Avoiding Certain Foods During Abdominal Pain
It may be a good idea to avoid oily, deep fried or greasy foods and snacks. Very hot, peppery and spicy foods should also be avoided. Foods that are high in sugar content such heavy desserts may also be consumed in lesser quantity than usual. Large portions during a single meal may be avoided. The patient may also try to avoid any strong smelling foods and snacks. Food must be chewed slowly and thoroughly, and not eaten rapidly. It may also be a good idea not to lie down immediately after having a meal. Dry fruits, nuts and seeds may also cause trouble, so these should be avoided. Caffeine based beverages should be consumed in minimal quantity or avoided completely.
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Unexpected Signs And Symptoms Of Lung Cancer
What sort of symptoms would be considered unexpected, shocking, or surprising? These signs and symptoms dont appear to be related to our lungs. The general public would not expect these indicators or signals to be a warning of lung cancer.
Expected Symptoms Of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer produces symptoms that most people would expect. These symptoms are tied to the basic functions of our lungs. These symptoms include:
- Coughing. Coughing that doesnt go away or gets worse.
- Shortness of breath. Feeling out of breath, tightness in the chest, feeling like you cant breathe, or feeling you cant get enough air.
- Coughing up blood, phlegm, or mucus. Coughing up blood-tinged or rust-colored phlegm or mucus.
- Chest pain. Pain that gets worse with laughing, coughing, or deep breathing.
- Wheezing. Wheezing is that high-pitched whistling sound that happens when exhaling.
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Early Warning Signs Of Lung Cancer
Many people see a lung cancer diagnosis as a death sentence. Thats understandable, since lung cancer kills more than 1.3 million people a year. But when caught early enough, lung cancer can be treatable and, often, curable. According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer that hasnt metastasized, or spread, is slightly more than 50 percent, as compared to nearly 4 percent for lung cancer thats already spread to other organ systems. So pay close attention to these early and sometimes surprising signs of lung cancer, and be assertive about bringing anything suspicious to your doctors attention.
Depression or other mood changesResearchers have recently noted a surprising connection between first-time diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric symptoms and lung cancer. In a surprising number of cases, cancer patients particularly those with lung cancer discover they have a tumor after being referred for psychiatric care. One study that followed more than four million people for ten years, for example, found that when people ages 50 to 64 were referred to a psychiatrist for the first time in their lives, the overall incidence of cancer increased almost fourfold.
What causes it: The connection between anxiety, depression, and lung cancer isnt clear, except that people may be feeling generally subpar without knowing why.
Face And Neck Swelling
Lung cancer tumors can press on the superior vena cava, the large blood vessel that returns blood to the heart from the upper part of the body.
This can cause blood flow through that vein to become fully or partially blockeda complication known as superior vena cava syndrome.
When this occurs, blood flow is impended and pressure builds up in the areas the vein usually drains blood away from. This can cause swelling of the face, neck, and arms, as well as dilated veins in the neck and chest.
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What Shortness Of Breath And A Persistent Cough May Mean
Shortness of breathAbout 15 percent of lung cancer cases are in nonsmokers, often as a result of exposure to air pollution, secondhand smoke, or toxins such as asbestos and radon. So although shortness of breath is one of the classic symptoms of lung cancer, it tends to go unnoticed among many people until its quite pronounced, because its so easy to attribute to other causes.
How it feels: Like youre developing asthma or have gotten out of shape. It may feel as though its harder to draw a deep breath, especially when exerting yourself, or you may notice a wheezy feeling in your chest.
What causes it: Lung cancer can develop in the lung sacs themselves or in the bronchial tubes leading to the lungs. Tumor growth interferes with the ability of the lungs to fully inhale and exhale air.
What to do: Ask the doctor to perform breathing tests for asthma and COPD to see if theres another potential cause. If not, ask for a chest X-ray.
Persistent cough or hoarsenessPeople diagnosed with lung cancer often look back and realize theyve been plagued by voice changes or a recurrent cough for months or even years, but they blamed it on allergies or illness. Smokers may blame this symptom on smokers cough.
What to do: Tell your doctor if you develop a chronic cough or hoarseness that doesnt go away after a few days. And if you cough or spit up blood, report this to your doctor immediately.
Asbestos Fibers Could Be In Your Home Or Workplace
Asbestos causes serious health conditions, including:
- Mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer only caused by breathing asbestos
- Forms of lung cancer aside from mesothelioma
- Asbestosis
Because asbestos is naturally resistant to both fire and corrosion, it is a good material for insulation. This means you can find asbestos in:
- Heat-resistant fabrics
- Insulation, which may be in walls, attics, around pipes, and around heat-emitting appliances such as furnaces and stoves
- Certain textured paints
- Certain roofing materials including shingles
- Vinyl flooring
Asbestos presence in building materials puts a few groups at an abnormally high risk of breathing asbestos fibers, and of developing lung cancer as a result. Some of these groups include:
- Construction workers
- Demolition crews
- Professionals who work near insulation, such as air conditioning installers and rodent removal specialists
If you have developed lung cancer, especially if you have never or only rarely smoked, then breathing asbestos fibers is a possible cause.
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If Youre Getting Radiation Therapy To The Abdomen
If you are getting radiation to your stomach or some part of the abdomen , you may have side effects such as:
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
Eating or avoiding certain foods can help with some of these problems, so diet planning is an important part of radiation treatment of the stomach or abdomen. Ask your cancer care team about what you can expect, and what medicines you should take to help relieve these problems. Check with your cancer care team about any home remedies or over-the-counter drugs youre thinking about using.
These problems should get better when treatment is over.
Managing nausea
Some people feel queasy for a few hours right after radiation therapy. If you have this problem, try not eating for a couple of hours before and after your treatment. You may handle the treatment better on an empty stomach. If the problem doesnt go away, ask your cancer care team about medicines to help prevent and treat nausea. Be sure to take the medicine exactly as you are told to do.
If you notice nausea before your treatment, try eating a bland snack, like toast or crackers, and try to relax as much as possible. See Nausea and Vomiting to get tips to help an upset stomach and learn more about how to manage these side effects.
Managing diarrhea
Types Of Pain In Lung Cancer
Pain is generally considered the most common symptom of lung cancer.; Pain is often caused by multiple factors and its management needs to be multi-disciplinary to address all these aspects. In cancer, pain can be characterized into two areas: acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain is usually due to a definable injury or illness. Acute pain may be a secondary cause of cancer, such as a severe bleeding into a tumor, bone pain caused by a metastasis , or abdominal pain caused by a metastasis that obstructs the bowel. Acute pain is usually experienced for a limited duration and is predictable. It is usually associated with clinical signs such as increased heart rate, high blood pressure, sweating, and pale skin.3
Chronic cancer pain may be a result of the same causes as acute pain but it is experienced for a much longer duration. Chronic pain can persist for more than 12 hours a day and often has a gradual or poorly defined onset. Approximately 75 percent of cancer patients live with chronic pain.3
Many cancer patients experience flares of pain despite using pain medications. These flares are called breakthrough cancer pain. Breakthrough pain greatly impairs a patients quality of life and can cause additional psychological burden.3
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How To Lower Your Risk
As a society, we eat a lot of processed and unhealthy foods that cause these benign symptoms that we have. We really need to shift back to a cleaner, mostly plant-based diet, says Dr. El-Hayek. Theres no doubt that the data supports a diet thats rich in fresh vegetables, minimal fruit and minimal meat, especially processed meat. Avoiding these toxic foods will not only decrease a persons risk for cancer development, but also the digestive symptoms from eating them.
Causes Of Stomach Cancer
Stomach cancer is caused by changes in the cells of the stomach, although it’s unclear exactly why these changes occur.
Cancer begins with a change in the structure of the DNA in cells, which can affect how they grow. This means cells grow and reproduce;uncontrollably, producing a lump of tissue called a tumour.
Left untreated, cancer can spread to other parts of the body, usually through the lymphatic system .
Once the cancer reaches your lymphatic system, it’s capable of spreading to other parts of your body, including your blood, bones and organs.
It’s not known what triggers the;changes in DNA;that lead to stomach cancer and why only a small number of people develop the condition.
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Types Of Lung Cancer In Women And Men
The types of lung cancer differ among women and men as well:
- Women tend to develop NSCLC more than men.
- Women are more likely to be diagnosed with adenocarcinoma than men .
- Female nonsmokers are more likely than male nonsmokers to be diagnosed with the subtype bronchioalveolar carcinoma.
- Women who have lung cancer are more likely to live longer than men.
- Women who undergo surgery for some lung cancers, including NSCLC, also live longer than men. Women have a better response to chemotherapy;treatments for lung cancer than men do.
- Men are more likely to be diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma than women.
Shoulder And Arm Pain
Shoulder pain can be a symptom of lung cancer and is sometimes the first symptom.
Tumors occurring in the upper portions of the lungs known as Pancoast tumors may cause pain in the shoulder that can radiate down the arm toward the pinky finger.
In addition to lacking “typical” lung cancer symptoms, these tumors can be hard to detect on imaging studies. The diagnosis is often delayed.
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