Texas lung cancer treatment center
Facts about Lung Cancer
One of the most common kinds of cancer to be detected in the United States is lung cancer. Every year, around 220,000 men and women were found to be diagnosed with this type of cancer, says the American Cancer Society. The majority of these cases are found due to smoking tobacco.
Risk Factors for Lung Cancer
The biggest risk factor and the root cause of developing lung cancer is found to be smoking. 87% of the cases of lung cancer in America is due to smoking tobacco in pipes, cigarettes or cigars. The longer you smoke, and the amount you smoke, increases your chances of getting lung cancer. If you do decide to quit, it will take time for your risks of developing lung cancer to diminish.
There are other risk factors that can cause lung cancer. Having these risk factors will not mean that you are going to develop lung cancer. Nonetheless, it is always a good idea to get regular check-ups with your doctor.
Risk factors for lung cancer include:
- Heavy air pollution in the environment
- Family history showing cases of lung cancer
- Recurrence of lung cancer
- Exposure to radiation in chest or breast
- Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or Secondhand smoke. This is a combination of two kinds of smoke from burning tobacco
- Having lung diseases like tuberculosis (TB)
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Showing signs of the following symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have cancer. Nevertheless, if you show signs of any of these symptoms, be safe and get it checked out. It could also be that the symptoms are signs of other health issues.
Symptoms of lung cancer include:
- Constant pain in the chest that gets worse by coughing deep, breathing or laughing
- Pain in shoulder or arm
- Persistent coughs, getting worse
- Coughing up rust-colored spit or blood
- Shortness of breath
- Continuous episodes of bronchitis or pneumonia
- Swelling of face or the neck
- Loss of appetite
- Drastic weight loss
- Constantly feeling tired or weak
If the lung cancer starts to advance to the rest of the body, you might experience:
- Pain in the bones
- Numbness or weakness in leg or arm
- Bouts of dizziness, seizure or a headache