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Cancer Testing |
How to test for lung cancer?
(May 10, 2010)
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Cancer is a condition where an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells occur which compromises the health of the individual by affecting a particular organ. These cells if not checked in time continue to grow and can affect the entire human body functioning, leading to life threatening conditions.These abnormal cells are usually found in the form of a tumor. A benign tumor is one that is limited in its size and that does not grow beyond a point. This sort of tumor is not life threatening as long as it is removed from the organ or area where it is present. Cancer tumors begin to grow beyond control and start attacking the healthy cells of the organ on which or within which they are growing. This leads to a gradual failure of the organ. Symptoms of cancer differ based on which area of the body is being affected by which type of cancer.
Lung cancer is a serious form of cancer that affects the lungs of an individual, causing a reduction in lung function. Lung cancer is extremely dangerous and can be fatal if not detected early enough. Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancerous death in human beings. Lung cancer can be caused by bad lifestyle habits, particularly by smoking. Smoking is directly linked to lung cancer as the deposits of black material inside the lung promote the growth of abnormal cells which result in the eventual failure of the lungs due to it being overrun by the cancer.
Lung cancer mortality rates tend to be high as the symptoms do not present themselves quickly at the early stage of the condition. Symptoms of lung cancer include coughing, coughing up sputum and phlegm, coughing up blood, shortness of breath due to reduction in lung capacity, and wheezing along with a deep sounding cough. Blood passes through the lungs in order to get oxygen from the air outside. This makes the blood supply easily available to cancer cells. The reason for cancers to cause blood when a person is coughing is related to the extra blood supply that occurs in the lungs. Once these symptoms are noted, further scans including X-ray, CT and MR scans are used to confirm the presence of a tumor. A scope may be sent down the throat to get a biopsy sample for the confirmation of cancer diagnosis. Some forms of lung cancer are treated with surgery to cut off the tumor while others are treated using radiation and chemotherapy.
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Submitted by M T on May 10, 2010 at 03:57
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