| When you breathe in, air passes from your nose or | | | | (SCLC) usually responds better to chemotherapy and |
| mouth through the windpipe (trachea), which divides | | | | radiation.The most common cause of lung cancer is |
| into two tubes (airways), one going to each lung. | | | | long term exposure to tobacco smoke. The |
| These are known as the right and left bronchus and | | | | occurrence of lung cancer in non-smokers, who |
| they divide to form smaller tubes called bronchioles, | | | | account for fewer than 10% of cases, appears to be |
| which carry air through the lungs. At the end of the | | | | due to a combination of genetic factors, radon gas, |
| bronchioles are millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli. In | | | | asbestos, and air pollution, including second-hand |
| the alveoli, oxygen is absorbed from air breathed in | | | | smoke. |
| and passes into the bloodstream to be circulated | | | | Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in |
| around the body. | | | | the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in |
| Lung cancer is one of the most common types of | | | | men and women in the United States. Cigarette |
| cancer. The lungs are a pair of cone-shaped organs | | | | smoking causes most lung cancers. The more |
| situated inside the chest, they bring oxygen into the | | | | cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you |
| body and take out waste carbon dioxide. There is a | | | | started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. |
| strong link between smoking and lung cancer. There | | | | High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos |
| are two main categories of lung cancer; Small Cell | | | | exposure may also increase risk. |
| Lung Cancer (SCLC) , and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer | | | | Cancer of the lung, like all cancers, results from an |
| (NSCLC). World-wide over 1 million people are | | | | abnormality in the body's basic unit of life, the cell. |
| diagnosed with lung cancer each year. | | | | Normally, the body maintains a system of checks and |
| Sometimes the instructions to a cell go haywire and | | | | balances on cell growth so that cells divide to |
| that cell and its offspring reproduce wildly, without | | | | produce new cells only when needed. Disruption of |
| regard for the shape and function of a lung. That wild | | | | this system of checks and balances on cell growth |
| reproduction can form tumors that clog up the lung | | | | results in an uncontrolled division and proliferation of |
| and make it stop functioning as it should. Because of | | | | cells that eventually forms a mass known as a tumor. |
| the large size of the lungs, cancer may grow for | | | | Yet most lung cancer deaths could be prevented. |
| many years, undetected, without causing suspicion. | | | | That's because smoking accounts for nearly 90 |
| Lung cancer can spread outside the lungs without | | | | percent of lung cancer cases. Your risk of lung cancer |
| causing any symptoms.Adding to the confusion, the | | | | increases with the length of time and number of |
| most common symptom of lung cancer, a persistent | | | | cigarettes you smoke. If you quit smoking, even |
| cough, can often be mistaken for a cold or bronchitis. | | | | after smoking for many years, you can significantly |
| The main types of lung cancer are small cell lung | | | | reduce your chances of developing lung cancer. |
| carcinoma and non-small cell lung carcinoma. This | | | | Protecting yourself from other risk factors for lung |
| distinction is important because the treatment varies; | | | | cancer, such as exposure to asbestos, radon and |
| non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is sometimes | | | | secondhand smoke, also decreases your risk. |
| treated with surgery, while small cell lung carcinoma | | | | |