Lung Cancer Treatment, Types, Diagnosis, Prevention, Causes & Symptoms

What is carcinoma lung?

Carcinoma lung is the biggest type of lung cancer occurring both in men and women. The rate of deaths from carcinoma lung has increased with each passing year. Like all other diseases, carcinoma lung also has stages that will determine the level of severity to which the cancer has spread in the whole body. There are two types of this disease, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Carcinoma lung as the name is suggestive is some sort of cancerous disease that starts in the lungs. The lungs are regarded as the two types of elastic organs in the chest which will draw in oxygen when inhaled and leave the carbon dioxide out when exhaled.

It is basically defined as the growth of abnormal cells that cannot be controlled and that can begin in both the lungs, and especially in cells that line the passages of air. The presence of abnormal cells do not do any good. They do not convert into any healthy lung tissue, and rather divide swiftly and develop into tumours.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this disease might include:
Chronic cough changes.

Blood while coughing.

Excessive wheezing.

Pain in the bones.

Extreme headaches.

Effusive loss of weight.

Hoarse voice.

Pain in the chest.

Excessive fatigue.

Difficulty in swallowing.

Persistent cough.

Causes

This disease is majorly caused because of smoking, which is quite widespread both among adults and youngsters. It is not that the heavy smokers suffer from this disease, but it can also happen to people who do not smoke. This means, in some people with this disease, there may be no apparent cause for carcinoma lung.

Risks

There may be various complications to this disease including:
Extreme breathlessness.
Coughing up blood.
Excess fluid in the chest.
Metastasis- The cancer that will spread to other parts of the body.

Prevention

There are no prevention measures for this disease. But, the only thing one can do to keep the disease at bay, is by not smoking at all. Cigarette smoking is the only reason people are getting it, so if this tendency is limited, chances of being affected by the disease will be quite low.

How is it diagnosed?

At Medanta, this disease can be diagnosed by means of the following tests:
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PET (positron emission tomography)
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Chest Scan
CT Scan
Sputum Test
Bronchoscopy
Mediastinoscopy
Biopsy

How is it treated?

There are various ways to treat this disease. A few of which include:

Lobectomy
It is used to remove the entire lobe of the lung
Pneumonectomy
It is used to remove an entire lung
Segmental Resection
It removes the large portion of lung but not the entire lobe
Wedge Resection
It is used to remove a minor section of the lung that has tumour
Chemotherapy
It is also a way the cancerous cells can be killed. There is a combination of drugs that is given over a period of time to restore the patient to normal health. These drugs are used to kill the cells that remain and also help relieve pain if there is any
Radiation Therapy
It uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumours and kill cancer cells

When do I contact the doctor?

You should immediately consult a doctor, if you begin to experience symptoms such as blood while coughing, extreme headache, hoarse voice, and chest pain. All these symptoms will be treated just right with the help of our medical expertise at Medanta.

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