Early Detection Of Lung Cancer Gives The Best Chance Of Survival

Lung cancer is generally divided into two main categories; small cell and non small cell. The small cell lung cancer is further divided into several additional subcategories. The vast majority (approximately 80 percent) of people diagnosed have non small cell lung cancer.

Symptoms of non small cell lung cancer include breathlessness, chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, fever and weight loss, and is usually diagnosed by imaging, lung biopsy, and/or blood tests. These symptoms normally do not manifest themselves until the disease has become widespread, making the treatment much more difficult.

Depending on which type of non small cell lung cancer is present, the stage it is in, the exact location of the cancerous mass, the number and type of symptoms present and the overall patient health will determine the outcome of the treatment.

If the disease is caught early, it can be treated by surgery and the odds of defeating it are pretty good. Once it spreads to the surrounding chest tissues and the lymph nodes, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are utilized for treatment. The five year survival rate for non small cell lung cancer, if it is caught in the early stages, is greater than 50 percent. However, if it has reached the advanced stages, the survival rate drops to a depressing two percent.

The good news, non small cell lung cancer is not as aggressive as small cell lung cancer, if a person has been diagnosed wtih that, they are lucky to survive two to four months.

Approximately 25 percent of the time, there are no symptoms in the patient, and the cancer is detected during a routine screening. However, in 75 percent of the cases, there are symptoms that are present.

So if you, or a loved one, have any of the common symptoms, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, fatigue, chest pain or unexplained weight loss, schedule an appointment with your family physician, he can run the necessary tests to determine what you are suffering from. Remember, the odds of defeating this disease are much better the earlier that you are diagnosed.

Too many people who have non small cell lung cancer do not know about it until it is too late. At http://www.non-small-cell-lung-cancer.com learn more about the early detection of non small cell lung cancer.

Lung Cancer Prognosis
Prognosis deals with predicting about the way a disease spreads and its possible outcomes. Prognosis includes chances of recovery from the disease too. These are two aspects for prognosis of any disease. When a patient approaches a doctor with sympto...

Lung Cancer Survival Rate
Several factors influence lung cancer survival rates. The type of cancer, the stage it is at when diagnosed, and the overall condition of the patient all play a role in determining survival. Cancer survival is usually expressed in terms of a five-y...

Save Yourself From Lung Cancer!
Lung cancer is a very serious form of cancer. This is lethal especially when the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs has already spread to the other organs in the body.Cancerous cells can break down and can spread in other parts of the...

Early Detection Of Any Disease Is The Key So What Are The First Symptoms Of Lung Cancer?
Much research work has been dedicated to find out the first symptoms of lung cancer. Cancer is that painful disease that needs no introduction and cancer of the lung is one of its most common forms. It is said that early detection of cancer is the ke...

History of Lung Cancer
Lungs are part of the body, responsible for breathing. Lung cancer is caused by abnormal cells that grow into a malignant tumor. The factors that cause lung cancer are many.Personal and family history of a person are two aspects that may cause lung ...

Asbestos Lung Cancer
People with a history of asbestos exposure are about seven times more likely to die from lung cancer than those who are unexposed to asbestos. Asbestos exposure is associated with all types of lung cancer, and with a rare type of cancer called malig...

Non Small Cell Lung Cancer
Approximately 80 percent of people with lung cancer have non-small cell lung cancer. Depending on the type of cancer cell present, non-small cell cancer is in turn divided into several subtypes. Squamous cell carcinoma begins in thin, flat surface...

Lung Cancer - The Stages And Treatments Involved In Treating The Disease
Lung cancer forms in the tissues of your lungs generally in the cells which line your air passages.lung cancer is a very aggressive type of cancer and if not caught early enough can have a very poor outcome.Generally, lung cancers originate in the li...

Lung Cancer Stages
Cancers are staged depending on how far they have spread. Staging a cancer correctly is essential to select the most appropriate treatment option. A number of diagnostic tests, such as CT scans, MRIs, bronchoscopy, blood tests, bone scans, and biop...

Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma and Asbestos
Commonly, because lung cancer symptoms do not manifest in the early stage of the disease, treating it will be a big problem especially when detection happens when cancer metastases or secondary cancer cells already developed in the other organs of th...

Jul 21, 2008 2:00 am under International Mesothelioma, you can trackback from your own site.