Q: How do I prevent developing lung cancer?

 

A: Quit smoking, or never begin smoking. -Quitting smoking earlier rather than later will dramatically improve your odds of restoring your
lungs to pre-smoking health. -Avoid occupational exposure to cancer causing elements such as asbestos and radon. FACT! Lung cancer
represents the single most preventable form of death in the United States, with approximately 350,000 smoking related lung cancer deaths
each year. Smoking does cause cancer!

 

 

Q: What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

 

A: Signs and symptoms of lung cancer vary from patient to patient but may include:

1. - Coughing

2. -Wheezing

4. - Chest Pain

1.  

Q: How is lung cancer diagnosed?

 

A:To check for cancer, a biopsy must be performed.  A biopsy is surgical removal of a small piece of tissue for microscopic examination to determine if cancer cells are present. Biopsy is the most important procedure in diagnosing cancer. Sometimes cancer cells can be found in a person's sputum – the thick fluid that is coughed up from your airways. Other types of tests can also be used to diagnose lung cancer. Bronchoscopy is a test in which the doctor uses a thin, lighted tube called a bronchoscope to examine breathing passages.

The tube also allows the doctor to collect some cells to examine under a microscope. If cells cannot be reached with a bronchoscope, the doctor may insert a needle through the chest wall to withdraw a sample of cells. This procedure is called a needle aspiration/biopsy. A needle can also be used to remove a sample of fluid from the sac called the pleura that surrounds the lungs.

A pathologist can examine these samples for the presence of cancer cells. When the doctor can feel swelling of the lymph nodes or liver, he or she may also biopsy these to check for cancer cells. In many cases, a surgical procedure called a thoracotomy or thoracoscopy is needed to diagnose lung cancer. If lung cancer is diagnosed, additional tests may be done to determine the stage of the disease. Staging is the process of determining how much the cancer has spread and what parts of the body have been affected. These tests may include operations (mediastinoscopy), radionuclide scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).