Informative Essay On Lung Cancer
When someone hears the word cancer, a lot of things run through their mind. Cancer is the second most leading cause of death in America; by taking over more than half a million lives. There are many different types of cancer, but lung cancer leads the cause of death in cancer patients.
What exactly is lung cancer one might ask? Everyone knows what cancer is, but what makes lung cancer different from other kinds is a very good question. Cancer forms when there is a mutation that forms in the DNA (Lung Cancer 101 1). Various things can trigger a mutation in the lungs, but some of the common ones are smoking cigarettes, breathing in asbestos, and being around random gasses; radon being the popular one. Lung cancer is where the abnormal cells …show more content…
Non-small cell cancer is mostly treated with surgery, where a surgeon removes a section of the lung that contains cancer (Lung Cancer 101 5). If the patient has stage three or four and isn’t a good candidate for surgery, the treatment would be chemotherapy and radiation. Even though surgery is common for non-small cell, small cell treatment is completely different. Not very many patients undergo surgery if they have the small cell (Lung Cancer 101 6). The primary treatment is chemotherapy and a high dose of radiation. Half of the patients that get diagnosed with small cell cancer are at a high risk of cancer spreading to the brain. Doctors try to prevent this by prescribing radiation therapy for the brain just to be safe.
The side effects of chemotherapy and radiation are usually short term and depends on how long the patient is taking the treatment and how much. Blood clots are a very common effect after the treatment but can be very dangerous. Since they are a very common side effect, doctors can prevent them by keeping the patient active as much as they can. While taking chemotherapy, the patient’s bones tend to weaken and become fragile. To prevent this from happening or even trying to decrease the risk of having problems is having the patient take calcium to strengthen their
What exactly is lung cancer one might ask? Everyone knows what cancer is, but what makes lung cancer different from other kinds is a very good question. Cancer forms when there is a mutation that forms in the DNA (Lung Cancer 101 1). Various things can trigger a mutation in the lungs, but some of the common ones are smoking cigarettes, breathing in asbestos, and being around random gasses; radon being the popular one. Lung cancer is where the abnormal cells …show more content…
Non-small cell cancer is mostly treated with surgery, where a surgeon removes a section of the lung that contains cancer (Lung Cancer 101 5). If the patient has stage three or four and isn’t a good candidate for surgery, the treatment would be chemotherapy and radiation. Even though surgery is common for non-small cell, small cell treatment is completely different. Not very many patients undergo surgery if they have the small cell (Lung Cancer 101 6). The primary treatment is chemotherapy and a high dose of radiation. Half of the patients that get diagnosed with small cell cancer are at a high risk of cancer spreading to the brain. Doctors try to prevent this by prescribing radiation therapy for the brain just to be safe.
The side effects of chemotherapy and radiation are usually short term and depends on how long the patient is taking the treatment and how much. Blood clots are a very common effect after the treatment but can be very dangerous. Since they are a very common side effect, doctors can prevent them by keeping the patient active as much as they can. While taking chemotherapy, the patient’s bones tend to weaken and become fragile. To prevent this from happening or even trying to decrease the risk of having problems is having the patient take calcium to strengthen their