How Lung Cancer Affects the Rest of the Body

Lung cancer is one of the diseases that do not discriminate any age it affects both the young and the old. It basically involves simultaneous growth of cancerous cells in the lung. You might think that this disease is related only to the smokers but that's not true many non-smokers have also been diagnosed with this deadly disease. Besides affecting the lungs, this cancer also causes havoc to other parts of the body more so when it has gone through metastasis.

In most cases this disease is rarely diagnosed especially when it is in its primary stage. In fact most cases are identified when a doctor orders a chest scan for some other health conditions. The first stage mainly involves the growth of the cell inside the lungs. It then begins to invade the tissues of the lungs. Nearby tissues aren't spared also. It has been realized that the tumor may in fact push against the chest and that's when someone starts experiencing some symptoms which include blunt, persistent cough, constant pain in the chest panting and other health conditions such as pneumonia.

Did you know lung cancer may also affect the brain? Well, this very true research has shown that the brain may be affected to the extent of developing some health issues or symptoms. Patients may have vision issues, feel weak on one part of the body or even experience seizures.

Metastasis of lung cancer to the bones also may also happen. A patient may experience discomfort in the backbone commonly known as the vertebrae. The ribs and the thighs aren't an exceptional either patients suffering from lung cancer may also experience weakness in the thighs or some discomfort in the ribs.

The vocal chords of patients suffering from this disease have also been seen to paralyze with time. Patients may also start feeling pain in the shoulders or the deltoids as well. Swallowing also becomes a problem with lung cancer patients. The worst however may result when it proceeds to the esophagus. If an airway and to be precise a large one becomes obstructed then the lobe of the lung may collapse hence exposing it to an infection.

Generally Lung cancer doesn't just affect the lungs it also metastases to other parts of the body. Nearly all the body systems get affected. It is a killer disease and according to statistics it has killed very many people around the globe. Unfortunately many other patients are continuing to perish from this deadly cancer. It is therefore a wise idea that everyone becomes screened to eradicate any possibilities of the disease. Remember the earlier it is detected the better and the faster it can be treated.

Harry Hassami is the author and producers of The Mesothelioma Report. The complete website information about the mesothelioma.

Smoke Signals And Mesothelioma Symptoms

Despite a three year period allowed for entering a claim for mesothelioma compensation, delay can often occur until a confirmed diagnosis then reveals the disease has spread to an advanced stage. There are a number of reasons for not recognising the appearance of the first signs of mesothelioma or asbestosis symptoms.

Most often there is a long gestation period of up to 50 years from the initial period of exposure and a connection is not readily made, even though the victim may recall the circumstances of working with or surrounded by asbestos material at their place of work.

Lack of asbestos awareness to the deadly health risks was not only prevalent at the workplace during the peak years of asbestos use in UK industry but 'secondary exposure' could occur to wives and close family at home when washing their husband, brother or uncle's work clothes containing the fibre dust.

Another common reason for failure to correctly identify shortness of breath, a chronic cough or chest pain as likely first signs of mesotheliomaor anasbestosis-related condition is because they are strikingly similar to a number of other common types of respiratory disease, such as influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.

Crucially, the difference between mesothelioma and lung cancer can also be confused at first as exposure to asbestos can cause both conditions, even though the two occur in different tissues of the body. While lung cancer is a disease which affects just the lung tissue, mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lungs, heart, or abdomen, and is only caused by the breathing in of airborne, asbestos dust fibres.

Despite mesothelioma cancer being responsible for less than 1 per cent of all cancers diagnosed in the UK, prevalence of the disease has increased almost four-fold since the 1980s, when the first and most lethal types of asbestos had only just begun to be banned.

Another significant reason for a delay in seeking asbestos advice is often due to attributing the onset of breathing difficulties and bouts of coughing to a lifelong smoking habit. Cigarette/ tobacco smoking was particularly prevalent in the heavy industries of shipbuilding, railway engineering, auto assembly and manufacturing throughout much of the twentieth century, alongside the widespread use of asbestos.

An added complication is the effect smoking and asbestos exposure can have upon the risk of lung cancer mortality for asbestos workers. In 2011, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a report, which provided figures for the period, 1971 to 2005, the year that white asbestos chrysotile was finally banned from use, despite importation being stopped six years earlier.

The HSE report revealed that " of the 1,878 lung cancer deaths among the 98,912 UK workers surveyed who were exposed to asbestos, just 2 per cent of lung cancer deaths occurred to those individuals who had never smoked".

Further figures show that of those employees who worked with asbestos and who also smoked, an estimated 3 per cent of lung cancer deaths were attributable to asbestos only, 66 per cent to smoking only, and 28 per cent to the interaction of asbestos and smoking.

A separate study of smoking and exposure to chrysotile ( white) asbestos also found that there was a three and a half times risk at least of lung cancer from smoking in those working with high asbestos exposure to asbestos cement, insulation, friction or textile products in contrast to those working with low asbestos exposure.

Generally, survival rates of around five years for lung cancer patients are higher at 15 and 75 percent, while mesothelioma patients are considerably lower at 10 per cent with only a 4 to 18 months prognosis.

Asbestosis Victim Advice

Offering clear information, advice and FAQ's on mesothelioma and asbestos related illnesses.

Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com/ for more information and advice.

'Panoramic View' of Lung Cancer Gained From Latest Trials

Results from three recent genome-sequencing trials have provided a revolutionary insight into the deadly disease.

Lung cancer is responsible for more deaths than any other form of the disease. Fewer than 20% of the 1.6 million cases diagnosed across the globe every year are still alive five years later.

The trend in new studies focuses on personalised treatment. Genome-sequencing trials are used to match the best possible treatment to the specific genetic make up of a patient's tumours.

In the latest trials, researchers analysed tumour tissue samples from 183 patients suffering from lung adenocarcinomas, 178 suffering from lung squamous cell carcinomas and drilled-down studies of 17 tumours from smokers and non-smokers.

Author of two of the studies, Ramaswamy Govindan from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, said:

"For the first time, instead of looking through a keyhole we are getting a penthouse panoramic view,"

He added that previous studies had already looked more closely at personalised treatment but focused on a small number of genes. In contrast, the recent studies gleaned data across an entire genome.

Professor Govindan, who specialises in Medical Oncology believes that these kinds of "cataloguing studies" will revolutionise the way lung cancer clinical trials are designed. Instead of huge, expensive trials that feature a diverse collection of mutations, smaller studies will laser-down into patients' tumours according to their specific mutation. Medical experts are expecting this tailored therapy to be more beneficial for patients suffering from cancer.

The advances of such studies are clear - generic treatments tend to have a far greater number of side-effects as they are simply designed to kill any rapidly dividing cells rather than only attacking the ones spreading the disease. Furthermore, data from the targeted studies not only forms the basis of new treatments, they can cast light on those ones already on the market.

Drugs that treat adenocarcinoma, the strain behind 40 per cent of lung cancer cases, have already been approved. However, there are no approved drugs for treating another very common form of cancer, squamous cell carcinoma. Lung cancer clinical trials based on data from the recent targeted studies could be used to approve existing marketed drugs for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma according to Matthew Meyerson, a researcher from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts who also worked on the trials:

"The data that are really going to be informative is when you combine genomic data with outcomes of targeted therapies."

PSI CRO - Contract Research Organisation

http://www.psi-cro.com/

The Most Common Risk Factors in Lung Cancer

When one thinks of lung cancer, it is thought of as exactly that, however, this deadly disease comes in many shapes and forms, however. The two types of lung cancer that most variations fall under are the non small cell lung carcinoma, or cancer, and the small cell lung cancer (carcinoma), abbreviated as SCLC. The latter has also been called oat cell carcinoma for its "oat cereal like" appearance on the lung. SCLC is the less common of the two types of cancer, but it can be more difficult to treat and cure, as it is a more aggressive type of cancer. Statistics vary, but it is generally agreed that between 15% - 20% of all lung cancer cases are the small cell carcinomas.

So what are the most common risk factors that can lead to the growth of small cell lung cancer (SCLC)?

Smoking - Small cell lung cancer is often associated with a lung cancer that has grown due to an individual's habit of smoking. This may be the most important risk factor. Nicotine is the addictive part of the cigarette, but there are numerous known carcinogens (chemicals that are known to cause cancer) in the tobacco of a cigarette, cigar, or "chew". A carcinogen is a chemical that can alter a cells "make-up" or DNA, in an unhealthy manner. By altering the cells in the body, these abnormal cells change the normal, healthy life of a body cell. The abnormal cells can become cancerous and spread within the organ or to other organs and tissues in the body. If a small cell lung cancer cannot be treated and stopped, death may occur.

Radiation - Radiation can be a useful tool medically, but it can also be a risk factor in the development of this type of cancer. Ionizing radiation, in particular, is the form of radiation to blame. As ionization is the ability of the radiation to alter a cell's make-up by removing an electron from it, this can lead to a death of a cell, or a mutation of the cell that then renders it cancerous and it multiplies. While there is controversy over whether or not any non-ionizing radiation can contribute to cancer, it is generally assumed that it does not. Interestingly, ionizing radiation such as x-rays are used to diagnose and treat cancers of the lung, as they have that same ability to kill cells, in this case, the cancer cells when well-targeted during therapy.

Poor Nutrition - A diet that is lacking in the necessary nutrients to sustain and grow healthy cells throughout the body can contribute to the proliferation of small cell lung cancer. Cells in the lungs rely on the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in order for us to breathe properly. If the body cells that contribute to this exchange are not healthy, this important function can be hampered. As cells become weaker due to poor food habits, the environment becomes more unstable and prone to the growth of cancer cells.

Asbestos - While asbestos is really a mixture of minerals that are natural to our environment, when inhaled by a human lung it is a potential hazard to one's health, as asbestos is made up of very tiny fibers which can interact with the lung cells and cause irritation. This irritation can stimulate cells to become cancerous and create an environment for small cell cancer to grow.

By educating oneself to the general risk factors of small cell lung cancer, it is always hoped that an individual will avoid the practices that lead to this deadly cancer, while seeking medical treatment if there is any concern about one's own personal risk factors.

The Royal Brompton Hospital is one of the world's leading heart and lung centres, renowned for its expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. If you're looking for more information about early lung cancer symptoms visit us today.

Mesothelioma Cancer: A Brief Introduction

The inhalation of asbestos causes lung and pleural cancer, as it has been demonstrated in animal experiments and epidemiological studies.

Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of mesothelial cells, and affects the pleura and peritoneum in the 80% and 20% of the cases respectively. It usually occurs in people who have been exposed to asbestos in their workplace at least 15 years before the diagnosis, although sometimes the disease has been developed in people with very little to none exposures. In fact, the relationship between malignant mesothelioma and asbestos exposure was first described in 1960 by Wagner and colleagues in South African crocidolite miners.

The incidence of mesothelioma is known in countries where there is a national registry of this disease. Thus, the figure ranges between 14.2 and 2.5 cases per million in men and women, respectively, in the United States, 66 and 7 per million in Australia. In Spain for example there is no record of such occupational diseases. In a study conducted in Catalonia between 1983 and 1990, there was an attributable mortality rate of malignant mesothelioma per 100,000 cases of 0.83 and 0.47 in men and women respectively. In patients living in Barcelona and Cadiz with malignant mesothelioma, 62% of cases could be related to occupational exposure to asbestos, while the remaining 38% could be due to domestic or environmental exposures. The fact that mesothelioma can occur as a result of environmental exposure to asbestos is known, as described in populations living near asbestos mines in areas where the houses were painted with paint containing tremolite or in regions with high amount of the silicate in the soil.

The fiber appears to be associated with this tumor are amphiboles, whereas chrysotile, despite being the most commonly inhaled fibers, seems to be of danger. In Spain, the published series of malignant mesothelioma are concentrated in large cities, since, logically, is where there is a greater industrial exposure to asbestos. Patients usually present with a persistent pleural effusion and a computed tomography is used to reveal pleural lesions that may lead to a correct diagnosis of mesothelioma. This, however, requires pleural biopsy using thoracoscopy that has a yield above 90%.

Malignant mesothelioma invariably progresses to death of patients with a median survival of 7 months. With current evidence, neither radiotherapy nor chemotherapy nor surgery have shown any improvement in the prognosis of these patients. Nowadays new treatments are being tested, as the introduction of intrapleural cytokines, photosensitization mesothelioma cell or gene therapy, with no conclusive results to date. The involvement of patients diagnosed in Spain in research studies of new therapies require cooperation between centers to study a sufficient number of patients.

Pablo Rodriguez is a freelance writer and medical researcher. He has written multiples articles about cancer and spefically mesothelioma. He is currently studying to be a writer at University of Buenos Aires.

If you want to read more articles about cancer and asbestos please check his blog:

[http://mesotheliomatoday.com.ar/]

Mesothelioma Survival Rate - Bad!

Mesothelioma Survival Rate is not high and on average people diagnosed live from 4 to 11 months after. This survival rate is just harsh reality and devastating to the patients and their families. Sad is this fact as well that there are around 3,000 new diagnoses a year. However, new experimental treatments are being worked on to increase that number. See, this is good news because you get to spend that much more time with your loved ones. The American Cancer Society has been quoted to say that 40% of the patients now diagnosed with mesothelioma not live longer than a year and an average 10% live longer than 5 years.

The estimating or predicting, or attempt to do so, for anyone is difficult and there are some factors to take into consideration. Plus, the fact that no two patients are alike and what is true for one is not for another. The first factor that affects the individual's mesothelioma survival rate is the latency period.

The latency period is a big factor in the mesothelioma survival rate. This period is the amount of time from the time of exposure to asbestos and the first symptoms of mesothelioma. The time span between the two, or latency period, is anywhere from 20 - 50 years. This is a very long time for any disease to establish and when doctors finally do diagnose the health issues of the patient as mesothelioma, unfortunately it has spread to an advanced stage.

My question I have, that was not answered by any of my research is:

Why not go to your doctor before the symptoms begin, and you are still in the latency period. Talk to them, inform the doctor you worked with asbestos and what can they do to stop mesothelioma from taking your life?

Another factor in the mesotheliom survival rate of the asbestos exposed is the stage it is in when they are diagnosed.

Stage 1 and 2 have a better rate of survival because the disease has been caught early.

Stage 3 and 4 have a lower survival rate due to the advanced cancer growth and fewer treatment options available. Treating a cancer that has spread to other organs is an almost impossible battle to win inside the human body.

So, to recap, we have learned here that our mesothelioma survival rate goes up with the earlier diagnosing of it. I say, go to your doctor if you work with, or have worked with or around asbestos products. Learn the symptoms, educate yourself, this will help you in the end.

Other factors in the survival rate are:

· Age of the patient when diagnosed

· Does the patient smoke

· Health of the patient at diagnosis

· Size of tumor and if it has spread or can be removed

Treatments can improve Mesothelioma Survival Rates among some patients. Some of these treatments being rather aggressive such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation help some people. Remember though this varies from person to person. For some these therapies help, for others it does not.

Some survivors have had success with alternative therapies which aim to strengthen the immune system and boost their well-being. Some of these therapies are acupuncture, massage, yoga, nutritional supplements.

Mesothelioma Survival Rates are not good and that is a sad fact. However we can increase the time we have with out loved ones who have this dreaded disease and more time is always a good thing.

I am sorry that I need to reveal to you the very low Mesothelioma Survival Rate, if it is any consolation, I have been in your shoes of having a loved one diagnosed with this disease.
It makes me hate the material of Asbestos and the destruction Asbestos Poisoning does to the body and our loved ones. I know the hate for a fiber is not healthy and does me no good and I will not hold onto it.

How Is Lung Cancer Diagnosed?

If lung cancer is suspected in a patient, a series of different tests will be carried out to confirm the diseases presence (diagnosis), and to determine how widespread the disease has become (staging).

What are X-rays, CT Scans, and MRI Scans?

Usually patients are diagnosed with lung cancer when a doctor orders a chest X-ray which is associated with another illness. If lung cancer is detected by the chest X-ray, a CT (computer assisted tomography) scan, or a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan may also be ordered to further confirm both the diseases diagnosis and staging.

CT scans and MRI scans are tests that use computerized imaging to show in greater detail the size, shape, and exact location of a suspected tumour. At the same time the images will show whether the cancer has spread to another part of the body. If the cancer has spread to other organs within the body, further tests will be ordered by the doctor.

What is a Lung Biopsy?

A lung biopsy is where tissue is removed from the tumour and inspected under a microscope to confirm whether cancerous cells are present or not. This may be done via a needle being inserted through the wall of the chest to take a sample from the tumour, or via surgery where the wall of the chest is opened and either part or all the tumour is removed.

Lung biopsies are necessary to determine an accurate diagnosis, and also to identify the specific type of lung cancer present in a patient.

What is a Sputum Cytology?

A sputum cytology is a test used on cells that are coughed up from either the patient's lungs or breathing tubes, and are examined under a microscope to see whether they are cancerous or not. The test may also determine the specific type of cancer a patient has, although it will not show the precise location of the tumour. If the sputum cytology test is found to be positive, further tests will need to be carried out.

What is Staging?

Staging is a scale used by doctors to show how advanced (widespread) the lung cancer is within a patient. Staging also assists doctors to determine an accurate prognosis (a prediction of the likely future outcome of the disease). Once the prognosis has been evaluated by a doctor, an appropriate treatment plan can begin for the patient.

Each different stage of lung cancer is treated differently, and depending on the condition of a patient.

Philip Albert Edmonds-Hunt is from the County of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has travelled most of Europe, and he has lived in Spain on more than one occasion. Philip has also travelled much of the USA and now lives and works as a Freelance Writer and English Teacher in Mexico. He is the owner of The Oxford Quill, a small but reliable business offering a range of services such as Professional Article Writing, Proofreading, and Website Design. If you are interested in reading more about lung cancer, check out: https://sites.google.com/site/theoxfordquill/how-to-treat-lung-cancer-caused-by-melanoma