Lung Cancer - Knowing The What And Why?

Pay heed to your breath
Knowingly or unknowingly we all breathe every second, inhaling the air around and exhaling it out. Ever thought what makes it possible for our body to provide the life-sustaining gas oxygen' to each and every cell of the body so fast?

LUNG CANCER - Smoking may give you temporary pleasure, but beware...it will destroy your body's oxygen treasure

Lungs - Two sponge shaped organs located in your chest do this chore with the presence of various specialised cells and tissues, which take the inhaled fresh air and remove stale air with the aid of respiratory system. The lung cells are continuously exposed to dangerous chemicals as we breathe, and upon their prolonged exposure, these extremely toxic substances get slowly deposited inside lungs altering the normal gene function. This altered gene expression can sometime lead to uncontrolled, abnormal growth, cell-division and proliferation of lung, cells and tissues forming 'tumours', resulting into Lung cancer, one of the most common cancers, affecting mainly those who are slaves to cigarette smoke.

KNOWING THE WHAT AND WHY?
Lung cancer comprises of tumours that start in the lungs, usually around the cells lining the air passages, and as these tumours grow larger, the ability of lungs to sequester oxygen from the inhaled air, and transport it through the bloodstream decreases. These abnormal cell-clusters start damaging the nearby organs like the heart by compressing or blocking veins and arteries, and disrupt the functioning of normal cells while competing with them for space and nutrients to thrive.

Lung cancers can be either benign (cancerous cells stay at one place and don't spread) or malignant (cancerous cells spread to other body parts via bloodstream or lymphatic system). Based on the appearance of tumour cells under microscope, lung cancers are broadly segregated as:

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): 80% of all lung cancers fall under this category which starts with either lung, spreads slowly to nearby lymph nodes in the chest and later goes on to affect both the lungs and the fluid around, along with other parts of the body like liver, brain, etc,

Small cell lung cancers (SCLC): Makes up to 20% of all lung cancer cases, arising mostly due to smoking, these smaller aggressive cancerous cells form larger tumours by multiplying quickly and spread to other parts of the body.

Normal body cells follow a pattern of programmed cell death i.e. apoptosis, which keeps a control on their growth and division . On may wonder why bother about lung cancer if they have never smoked cigarettes. Well, let alone direct smoking, even second-hand smoke (inhalation of smoke from direct smokers or environmental tobacco smoke), carcinogen exposure like radon and hazardous chemicals; particulate pollution or an inherited genetic predisposition can damage vour DNA and lead to failure of apoptosis, thus posing an equally dangerous risk of lung cancer.

WHY ARE MEN AT RISK?
Globocon statistics of 2012 report that incidences of lung cancer in Indian men were 54000 as compared to 17000 cases in women. Smoking being strictly prohibited everywhere doesn't have any significant impact on the masses as everyday we come across many, mostly men, who freely smoke in public areas despite being near to a small child or a sick individual.

We as a society perceive a woman smoking in public to be uncultured, whereas its generally okay for men to smoke in public areas or even at home. Surveys have shown that with respect to the age and smoking status, males predominate with a higher lung cancer mortality ratio of around 49:15 as compared to women in India.

Indian society mostly perceives men as the primary bread winners of the family and they are stressful day at work usually directs them towards short recreational smoking breaks; which inevitably exposes the nonsmokers to harmful carcinogens via second-hand smoke at work, or even from the environment everyday.

RECOGNISE ITS SIGNS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
Clearly visible symptoms take time to appear until the disease reaches an advanced stage. Initially depending on its severity, following are a few varied signs of lung cancer that are similar to other lung infections, which normally go unnoticed, thus delaying its diagnosis,

Persistent coughing
Changes in mucus colour
Breathing and swallowing difficulties
Coughing
blood
Chronic pneumonia
Hoarse voice and neck swelling
Unexplained weight loss
Unsteady gait or memory loss

Imaging tests like chest X-rays, MRI, CT scan, etc. and biopsy studies are done to diagnose the type of lung cancer and its severity. This helps the doctor to decide the treatment modalities for the patient which normally include targeted drug therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc.

LUNG CANCER-A LIFESTYLE DISEASE!
An acquired lazy lifestyle with zero exercise, unhealthy diet, and chewing or smoking tobacco and nicotine via cigarettes for recreational pleasure definitely puts one at an extremely high risk of lung cancer. If you're working as a builder, electrician, etc., chances of getting exposed to asbestos or radon gas at workplace is usually high. Smoking with an open window doesn't prevent those around you from inhaling it as harmful chemicals present in smoke linger in air for hours. Avoiding direct or passive smoking, being physically active and eating lots of fruits and vegetables lessen the risk of lung cancer.

Lung cancer can't be prevented and you are gravely wrong if the so-called light cigarettes will reduce the risk of an impending carcinoma.