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- Also called: Bronchogenic carcinoma
- Symptoms: Intense coughing, blood in sputum, wheezing, weight loss, chest pain
- Common cause: Smoking
- Takes many years to develop
- Most cases preventableLungCancer.org: Lung Cancer Prevention
- Cigarette smoke contains 4000 cancer causing chemicalsNational Cancer Institute: Cigarette Smoking and Cancer
- Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancerNational Cancer Institute: Radon and Cancer
- Radon exposure blamed for 15,000-22,000 lung cancer deaths each yearNational Cancer Institute: Radon and Cancer
- Treatment: Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery
- Estimated new cases in 2005: 172,570 in U.S.Weill Cornell Medical College: Lung Cancer Research Institute
- Leading cause of cancer deaths among womenAmerican Cancer Society: Key Statistics for Breast Cancer
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Lung cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the lungs begin to grow and spread, sometimes throughout the body. A large group of abnormal cells in the lungs is called a tumor. Lung cancer most commonly develops in the bronchi, which is the part of the lung that divides into branches like a tree.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Most cases of lung cancer are caused by cigarette smoking.National Cancer Institute: Cigarette Smoking and Cancer Prize winner author John Updike died of lung cancer on January 27, 2009.KTAR (Arizona): John Updike, Prize-Winning Writer, Dead at Age 76 (January 27, 2009)
Types
There are two main categories of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common of the two types.Distinguishable by cell size, small cell lung cancer accounts for only about 10 to 15% of lung cancer cases. The cancerous cells spread quickly, nearly always requiring a drug-based treatment. The more common varieties are considered non-small cell lung cancer and typically develop over a period of years.American Cancer Society: What Is Small Cell Lung Cancer?
Causes
Some genetic traits can also make some people more susceptible to cancer-causing substances than others. Aside from the chemicals found in cigarettes, other cancer-causing substances include asbestos, silica, mineral dusts, coal dust, radioactive gas, radon, and arsenic.-
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Lung Cancer Questions
Was there water in Kathleen Savio lungs? 1 AnswerNo. Taken from a CNN transcript:"Yes, Nancy. And that`s four years too long, I`ll guarantee you, because at the time, it was -- the diagnosis was drowning. And... read more
What are some of the symptoms of Lung Cancer? 1 AnswerIn the early stages, no symptoms, but the cancer shows up on chest X-rays or CT scans. Later, patients can have symptoms like trouble breathing; coughing up bl... read more
Need help in finding / getting into a trial of cloned antibodies, especially at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 3 AnswersYou can search for Clinical Trials currently going on in the US and abroad here http://clinicaltrials.gov/ I found several adenocarcinoma trials that you can ch... read more
Does Jerry Remy have lung cancer? 2 AnswersHe is out of the booth indefinitely as he is recovering from lung cancer surgery from last year. Since surgery, he has suffer pneumonia and battled an infectio... read more



