90 percent caused by smoking
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer. Every year more people die from lung cancer than from breast cancer and colorectal cancer combined. And that while lung cancer in many cases could have been prevented. Lung cancer is caused in 90 percent of cases by smoking.
In the Netherlands, approximately 10,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. After prostate cancer, it is the most common type of cancer in men. In recent years, lung cancer has also become more common in women. This is due to the fact that more and more women have started smoking. The number of men with lung cancer is actually falling slightly.
Half of the people who get lung cancer are between the ages of 60 and 75. Lung cancer mainly occurs in men between the ages of 65 and 80, in women it is between 55 and 80 years. In the age group 30 to 45, an equal number of men and women develop lung cancer.
Causes
The main cause of lung cancer is smoking cigarettes. Smoking cigars and pipes also increases the risk of the disease. Scientific research has also shown that non-smokers who often co-smoke have a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
Practicing certain professions increases the risk. Due to intensive exposure to substances such as nickel, radon, arsenic and asbestos, for example. Exposure to harmful substances causes changes in the genetic material of the cells in the lungs. Eventually, the cells can derail and start dividing unimpeded.
Symptoms
With lung cancer, you often see no symptoms at all for a long time. In addition, the symptoms of lung cancer are often quite general. The complaints are often related to age or a deterioration of the condition. Sometimes the first complaints even come from the place where a metastasis for example pain in certain places in the body due to metastases in the bones.
Symptoms of lung cancer can include:
- change in cough pattern (e.g. persistent tickling cough)
- blood in coughed up mucus
- shortness of breath
- frequently recurring pneumonia
- persistent hoarseness without sore throat
- nagging pain in the chest area, back, or in the area of the shoulders
- more mucus formation
- swelling of the face or neck
In many cases, a worsening of the condition occurs with lung cancer. This can manifest itself in:
- fatigue for no apparent reason
- lack of appetite
- unexplained weight loss
Sometimes complaints also occur such as headache, drowsiness and pain elsewhere in the body.
Therapy
The most commonly used treatment for lung cancer are surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. A combination of the treatment methods is usually necessary. In addition, it often happens that lung cancer is only diagnosed when a cure is no longer possible. Only palliative treatment is then still useful. This treatment is aimed at inhibiting the disease, reducing symptoms and preventing complications.
It type lung cancer plays an important role in the choice of treatment, as does the stage of the disease and the patient’s physical condition.
Appearance
Quit smoking is the most important way to prevent lung cancer. The more and longer someone has smoked, the greater the risk of lung cancer.
Unfortunately, lung cancer is not yet easy to detect at an early stage, extensive research is currently being done. In the future, early diagnosis could help reduce the number of people dying from lung cancer. Half of the lung cancer patients survive the first five years after diagnosis if the lung cancer has not yet spread. In the case of metastasis, this is only 2 to 20 percent, depending on where the metastases are.
Currently, lung cancer is only detected at an early stage in 15 percent of cases. So hopefully there will be a lot of profit to be made here in the future.
