Lung Cancer prevention & symptoms Explained - Types, Risks factors

new video on lung cancer explained simply | symptoms and risk factors and lung cancer screening tool.

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Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs.
As the cancer cells grow, they can interfere with the normal functioning of the lungs. They can also spread from the original part of the lung to lymph glands around the airway, the opposite lung, bones, brain, and liver, as well as to other parts of the body.
small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The diagnosis is made by how the cells actually look under the microscope.
SCLC makes up about 10 – 15% of all lung cancer cases worldwide. It is aggressive cancer that grows quickly and spreads early to other parts of the body via the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Due to the rapid spread, they are often diagnosed late and treatment is mainly chemotherapy alone or in combination with radiotherapy for symptom control. This type of lung cancer is strongly associated with cigarette smoking.
The second type is non-small-cell Lung cancer. ( they include squamous cell, adenocarcinoma, large cell carcinoma )
NSCLC is not as aggressive as SCLC but it is more common. It accounts for 85-90% of all lung cancer worldwide. It tends to grow and spread less quickly than SCLC. And If discovered early, surgery and/or radiation therapy, chemotherapy may offer the chance of cure.
So what are the risk factors for getting lung cancers?
1) cigarette smoke is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. It is responsible for almost 80% of all lung cancer in the world, especially in the western part of the world.
In fact, second-hand smoke is also a major risk factor for lung cancer among non-smokers.
Second-hand smoke actually increases the risk of lung cancer by 30%.
2) age: lung cancer is more common in people above the age of 40
3) personal or family history of lung cancer: your risk of lung cancer is higher if someone in your family has had lung cancer. A lung cancer survivor is at a higher risk of developing recurrences of lung cancer
4) air pollution: the world health organization estimates that there are about 4 million excess deaths per year worldwide due to air pollution. Those who live in more polluted cities have a higher risk of lung cancer than those who live in less polluted cities.
5) Radiation exposure like radon ( radioactive gas ) - radon is actually all around us at low levels. They are generally found in the ground, soil, and rocks.
However, there are some occupations that are exposed to higher levels of radon.
Examples are miners, people who work in uranium processing factories, and people who come in contact with phosphate fertilizers ( which may have high levels of radium )
6) industrial exposure to harmful agents like asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, soot, and tar.

In Singapore, we have a strikingly high proportion of lung cancer detected among non-smokers or never-smokers
As high as 47.7% of all lung cancer from 2011 data are in non or never-smokers as compared to the western countries where lung cancer in never-smokers was only about 10-15%.
and Almost 70% of lung cancers in never-smokers in Singapore are females.
Reasons for this is still being evaluated = there are some postulations that these maybe due to genetic predispositions and exposure to environmental carcinogens such as radons from fuels used for cooking

The scary thing is there are often no symptoms in the early stages.
In the later stages, you may get
unexplained weight loss and tiredness.
loss of appetite
persistent cough with blood in sputum
breathlessness
chest pain
frequent chest infections

How do we prevent lung cancer?
quit smoking or if you are a non-smoker, not start at all
avoid secondhand smoke
avoiding carcinogens at work
consuming more fruits and vegetables
adopt a healthy lifestyle by managing your stress, exercise, sleep early.

Unlike say breast cancer or cervical cancer and colorectal cancer,
there isn’t any population-wide screening tool available for lung cancer at this point. However, there is a screening tool for high-risk patients in Singapore using a low-dose CT scan of the lungs.
For patients who satisfy the below three criteria can have their lungs scanned with low dose CT - scan
The criteria are
smoking history of 30 pack-years or more where 1 pack-year equates to smoking 1 pack of cigarette a day for one year, or 2 packs a day for 1/2 a year
AND
currently smoking or have quit within the past 15 years
AND
age 55-75

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