Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, affecting nearly 50,000 people each year. Knowing how to spot the symptoms can improve the chances of survival.
- The number of new cases of lung cancer each year has been multiplied by 7 in 30 years in women.
- The treatment of lung cancer is based on surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments (conventional chemotherapy, targeted therapies, specific immunotherapies).
Lung cancer is the fourth most common cancer in France: 49,109 new cases were diagnosed in 2017 (32,260 in men and 16,849 in women). If, among the latter, the trend remains weak, the figures are progressing dangerously.
According to the latest data, the median age of diagnosed patients is 66 for men and 65 for women. Cause of many deaths, lung cancer has a grim prognosis: only 17% of patients are alive 5 years after diagnosis. Therefore, knowing the symptoms allows for early diagnosis and increases the chances of recovery and survival.
Tobacco is the leading cause of lung cancer
There are 2 major types of bronchopulmonary cancer: 85% are “non-small cell” and 15% “small cell”, which is important in terms of therapeutic strategy. The relationship between the risk of developing lung cancer and smoking is widely established. Of 100 patients who died of such cancer, only 7 would never have smoked.
People who start smoking at a young age have an even higher risk of cancer, because smoking lasts longer, and the consumption of tar is considerable. Currently, 92% of lung cancer deaths in men and 71% in women are at least partly attributable to tobacco.
Pollution, chronic bronchial and pulmonary diseases or certain substances such as asbestos, radioactivity (X and gamma rays), radon (the colorless and odorless radioactive gas naturally present in the environment of certain granite or volcanic regions: in outside, it is not very dangerous because it is diluted, it becomes so when it infiltrates the foundations of houses), chromium, nickel, iron, arsenic or tar derivatives.
Signs to take seriously
The signs of lung cancer are fairly non-specific. They can be symptoms related to lung pain: a persistent cough for no apparent reason, which does not go away, shortness of breath or worsening of recent breathing difficulties, persistent chest pain, aggravated by breathing or coughing, bronchial infections or recurrent lungs, wheezing during breathing…
These may be more general signs, such as unusual and persistent fatigue, loss of appetite, involuntary weight loss, edema of the neck and face (eyelids) on waking… In some cases, upper lung cancer can manifest as pain up to the shoulder. This shoulder pain may even be related to a drooping eyelid of the eye on the same side with a narrowed pupil.
If in doubt, consult your general practitioner as soon as possible, and for the sake of your health, stop smoking as soon as possible.