Lung Cancer

The choice is yours.....

Healthy Lung or Unhealthy Lung ?

Lung cancer is uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in one or both of the lungs. As a result of these abnormal cells reproducing rapidly, cancer cells (tumors) form and damage the lung, making it dysfunctional.

There are two main types of lung cancers: non-small cell and small cell. Non small cell lung cancer accounts for about 80% of lung cancers while small cell lung cancer accounts for the other 20%. Non small cell cancers are named for the kinds of cells found in the cancer and how the cells look under a microscope. They spread much more slowly than small cell. Among non-small cell cancers are these types of tumors:

• Epidermold carcinoma (also called squamous cell carcinoma)
  - This forms in the lining of the bronchial tubes (the smaller air passages leading from the bronchi deeper into the lung tissue). This is the most prevalent type of lung cancer in men.
• Adenocarcinoma is found in the mucus glands of the lungs. This is the most common type of lung cancer in women and among people who have not smoked.

In small cell lung cancer, the cells are small, they multiply quickly and form large tumors that can spread throughout the body. In fact, small cell lung cancer is much more likely to spread to another organ in the body than non small cell lung cancer. Smoking is almost always the cause of small cell lung cancer.

Some important facts:

• Most cases of lung cancers are related to smoking.
• Not all smokers develop lung cancer.
• African American women have the highest incidence rates of lung cancer followed by Caucasians, Asian-Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and American Indians/Native Alaskans.
• African American men are at least 50% more likely to develop lung cancer than caucasian men.
• Annually, lung cancer kills more men than prostate cancer and more women than breast cancer.