An Overview of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with 1.8 million new cases being diagnosed yearly.

Lung cancer is the most fatal cancer in women, having passed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It is also the most fatal cancer in men, killing more men than prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colon cancer combined.

What Is Lung Cancer ?

Lung cancer originates in the tissues of the lungs or the cells lining the airways (the bronchi). These cells begin as and look like lung cancer cells under the microscope, with the exception of changes that occur in the process of becoming cancerous.

Who Gets Lung Cancer ?

The average age for lung cancer is 70, and 80 percent of people who develop lung cancer have smoked, but:

Lung cancer occurs in women - Women are actually much more likely to die from lung cancer than breast cancer, and the incidence of lung cancer in women has almost caught up with that in men.

Lung cancer occurs in non-smokers - And while lung cancer in men who have smoked is decreasing, lung cancer in non-smokers is increasing.

Lung cancer occurs in young adults - It's estimated that 13.4 percent of lung cancers occur in adults under the age of 40.

Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer

Because lung cancer is common. As noted earlier, lung cancer is the leading cause of death in both men and women and anyone who has lungs is at risk.

Overall,the most common symptoms include:

• shortness of breath with activity
• a persistent cough
• coughing up blood
• unexplained weight loss
• chest pain

Types of Lung Cancer

There are two primary types of lung cancer:

Non-small cell lung cancer is most common, being responsible for 80 to 85 percent of cancers. This is the type of lung cancer more commonly found in non-smokers, women, and young adults.

Small cell lung cancer is responsible for around 15 percent of lung cancers. These lung cancers tend to be aggressive and may not be found until they have already spread (especially to the brain).