What is lung cancer?
It is a serious disease that arises in the lung cells. It all starts with a malignant tumor; groups of cancer cells of bronchopulmonary origin that can take over the rest of the organ or even other parts of the body. The main risk is tobacco.
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Is this a common pathology?
The impact of lung cancer is high. It comes in 4th position by its frequency. It is the leading cause of humans’ death.
What are the different types of lung cancer?
There are two different types of cancer that can be distinguished through pathological examination:
- Non-small cell cancer: these are adenocarcinomas, squamous cell histology and large cell carcinomas (sarcomas and carcinomas sarcomatoides).
- Small cell cancer: those are small cell carcinomas and mixed small cell carcinoma.
- Pleural mesothelioma: this type is formed in the pleuron that covers the lungs.
- Other types: this is a metastasis from another cancer that appears in another organ.
What are the symptoms?
Unfortunately, the symptoms arise at a late stage. You can have a persistent cough. Wheezing , chest pain, haemoptysis (when someone is coughing up blood), general deterioration (asthenia, anorexia and weight loss) and dysphonia (change of voice). Other symptoms may appear and are related to the emancipation of sub hormones released by cancer cells are called paraneoplastic syndrome (digital hippocratism, hypersweating ...). Symptoms related to a metastasis can also arise.
How is the diagnosis done in Turkey?
The doctor must be consulted when in doubt. The earlier the diagnosis is done, the better the outcome will be.
The diagnosis involves several steps:
- Through interrogation: it is necessary to state the symptoms, the profession (there are occupational risks such as asbestos exposure), smoking, alcoholism and family history of lung cancer.
- Clinical examination: involves general examination and examination of the respiratory system through inspection, palpation, auscultation, and percussion.
- Supplementary examinations: we start with chest X-ray, chest CT and fiberoptic bronchoscope. The latter allows us to take samples for a pathological examination to confirm the cancer.
Then it is necessary to complete the extension assessment in the search for metastases.
Can we treat it?
The treatment has two components in Turkey: medical treatment and surgical treatment.
- Medical treatment: includes general treatment, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.
- Surgical treatment: consists of an excision of the cancerous tissue.
- The undertaken treatments are indicated by specialists in pneumology, oncology, and carcinology surgery.
How can lung cancer be prevented?
The best treatment for lung cancer in Turkey is preventive treatment. Preventive measures are based on the removal of risk factors, essentially the removal of tobacco.
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- Active or passive smoking (environmental tobacco smoke);
- Smoking cannabis (Marijuana);
- Exposure to radon: a colorless and inodorous gas that results from the natural decomposition of uranium;
- Exposure to asbestos: minerals resembling very fine fibers, used in plumbing, cement manufacturing and in electricity;
- Exposure to certain chemicals such as Arsenic, Silica powder or Cobalt:
- Air pollution ;
- Genetic factors;
- Exposure to nuclear radiation;
- Immunosuppression.
- Cough, with shortness of breath and chest pain;
- Coughing up mucus tinted with blood;
- High-pitched whistling sound emitted on exhalation (wheezing);
- Weight loss;
- Asthenia;
- Dysphonia (alteration of the voice);
- Difficulty swallowing;
- Swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck or above the collarbone;
- Headache.
- The questioning;
- Clinical examination;
- Imaging: radio and scanner (computed tomography);
- Bronchoscopy;
- Biopsy;
- Assessment of the stage of the disease (additional examinations to check if other organs are affected).
Several types of lung cancer treatments exist:
- Surgery ;
- Chemotherapy;
- Radiotherapy;
- Targeted therapies;
- Immunotherapy;
These procedures can be employed alone or in combination.
