Lung Cancer - Part Four
posted in Nutrition and Weight Loss, Self Awareness |Early symptoms of lung cancer
November 30, 2005
Lung cancer is one of the most dreadful human diseases around the world today. If an individual can be diagnosed very early, it is possible for a complete cure to take place.
But, there’s where the big catch is — it is often next to impossible to detect this disease early!
When symptoms begin to occur, the cancer is often quite advanced. The first and foremost early symptom of lung cancer is coughing up blood or haemoptysis.
You should consider this early symptom as a warning sign of a possible lung cancer, but one which might be curable. If you do find that you are coughing up blood, you should immediately contact your physician to get the necessary advice, particularly if you are a person above 40 years of age with a smoking habit. Sometimes this early symptom of lung cancer may be due to the effects of a secondary tumor somewhere else in the body.
The common early symptoms of lung cancer are: -
• Persistent pain in the chest or elsewhere, (possibly from the cancer spreading to a bone).
• Excessive fatigue.
• Worsening breathlessness.
• Chronic cough.
• Weight loss and/or loss of appetite.
• Hoarseness.
• Wheezing.
• Pyrexia (high fever) of unknown origin.
• Chest pain.
• Dyspnea (abnormal or uncomfortable breathing).
The above symptoms could also be symptoms of many other lung problems, so it is always advisable to see a physician to ascertain the cause. Your doctor will ask numerous questions about your medical history, including questions about your accidental or incidental exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Your physician will want to give you a complete physical examination once these early symptoms have occurred. If you are suffering from persistent cough with sputum (mucus), you may be asked to give a sample of your sputum to look for the presence of cancer cells. In addition to this, your doctor may order a specialized X-ray, including CT scan, to help in the location of abnormal spots in your lung.
Your health care professional may use a bronchoscope to examine your lungs and airways, and may take a sample, or biopsy, of the tumor using the bronchoscope itself. The bronchoscope will be inserted into one’s lung through either the nostrils or the mouth.
Most physicians are likely use a modern CT scan in smokers to identify lung cancers of smaller size. These smaller-sized cancers can often be treated and cured more easily than the large sized lung cancers. This method, called helical-low dose CT scan, has been used extensively to spot small sized cancers.
Once you have been observed with any early symptoms of lung cancer and also confirmative diagnosis of lung cancer, your physician will do numerous tests to find out whether the cancer has moved to other regions of your body. These details will help your physician to ascertain the palliative treatment for improving your health. An MRI, a bone scan and CT scan are the common tests to find out the metastasis stage of your lung cancer.
We will continue this series of articles soon. Watch for them.
Shanti.
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DISCLAIMER
These articles were written with great care. However, in spite of this, errors or omissions may occur. These articles are provided “as is” without any warranty whether expressed or implied. All readers of these articles agree to use the information provided in these articles entirely at their own risk and for their own information.
These articles should not be used as a basis for any form of diagnosis or treatment for any medical condition whatsoever – including Lung Cancer.
Always seek the advice of a professional medical doctor.
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