Tests for lung cancer
Lung cancer is a truly terrible disease and for various reasons. The cancer is difficult to detect and often is only found when it is too late to successfully treat the lung cancer. The disease is also very painful and the treatment for it is just as painful. It takes tremendous resources to fight lung cancer and it taxes the families of those who must watch their loved ones die. It is a terrible illness that amazingly could almost be irradicated if people were to cease smoking. It is a fact that something like eighty percent of lung cancer is due to smoking or exposure to second hand smoke. Other cases are due to exposure to chemicals that we are aware of and can have removed from living or work spaces. The disease could largely be a thing of the past, but unitl we wise up we need to learn about the varios tests for lung cancer. If you see a loved one suffering from a constant cough, bloody cough, weight loss, chest pain, and ongoing fatigue, you should have them see a doctor immediatley. This is especially the case if they are at a high risk for lung cancer.
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One of the biggerst problems with lung cancer is that there are no good scans for the disease that could be administered to the general public. With prostate cancer or with cervical cancer there are routine tests that doctors can easily administer. A woman can generally check her breast for lumps that would indicate breast cancer, but lung cancer is another mater. It is usually only after the symptoms have showed up and become severe that someone has a sophisticated exam done and a diagnosis is made.
The first test that a doctor will probably run is a chest X-ray. This could show some sort of abnormality or tumor developing. However, X-rays are not very detailed and they do not give a three dimensional image of the lungs. In order to get finer images a CT scan or MRI will probably have to be done. These images should give a much finer idea of what is going on and what a tumor might be doing.
The next step would be to actually examine the cells of the lung and see if a cancer can be detected. This is done with an examination of cells coughed up in the spitum, or through some sort of biopsy. A biopsy should basically determine if there is cancer and how quickly it is growing.
These are the basic tests that can be carried out to ascertain if a patient has lung cancer. As you can see, these are basically tests that catch the disease when it has allready developed to such an extent that your options are limited. Often the disease has allready spread to other parts of the body, and possibly the lymphnodes, making it very difficult to treat. When it has spread in this fashion the survival rate is as low as fifteen percent. This doesn't mean that you should give up hope if you have lung cancer or suspect that you might. The treatment can help to greatly lengthen your life and make the process much more comfortable. Recognizing the symptoms quickly and getting tested are a must if you are going to catch the disease and make a significant difference. Watch for the symptoms and get tested, but more importantly, avoid the disease alltogether by being careful. If you are a smoker quit as soon as possible. Realize that damage done to the lungs can be healed quickly.
