Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Lung Cancer

What are the causes, symptoms and treatment of lung cancer?
The most common cause of lung cancer (small cell [SCLC] and non-small cell [NSCLC]) is smoking (SCLC and NSCLC) - including passive (secondhand) smoke. However, other causes may include:

• Inhaling noxious fumes (such as radon gas).
• Work environment (asbestos factory, carpet factory, the fireworks industry, etc.).
• The main reason for the incidence of lung cancer because the lungs is one of the organs most affected by the external environment, more than any other organ in the body.

What are the symptoms of lung cancer stage IV?
Symptoms of lung cancer early is usually not obvious to most people; However, as they did become clear - later stage symptoms may include the following:

• Pain in the arms, back, hips, and shoulders (showing metastasis [deployment] disease).
• Persistent cough ([cough smokers] often may cough up blood - known as hemoptysis or hemoptysis).
• Swallowing problems - caused by the invasion of the esophagus (hoarseness in the throat).
• Recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis.
• Seizures and weakness of the body [weakness is often caused by weight loss).
• Shortness of breath and wheezing (often with a slight burning sensation felt in the trachea [wind pipe] and chest area.
• Visionary problems and headache (mild - pulsed) showed invasion of the brain (brain tumor).
• Yellowing of the skin due to the invasion of the liver (jaundice).

What treatments are available for lung cancer stage IV?
Because lung cancer is usually not diagnosed until the final stage - the choice is usually limited to try to prevent more metastasis, and try to provide extended patient prognosis (life expectancy).

However, chemotherapy (to prolong the patient's prognosis) is usually the treatment of choice - as surgical treatment is rarely used because of metastasis of the cancer already has affected too many organs in the body (it is impossible to remove so much of the body and for the patient to survive after it).

Palliative therapies (complementary) may also be considered, such as radiation therapy, and therapeutic clinical trials [usually a combination of drugs and new treatments]).

What is the prognosis for lung cancer stage IV?
Unfortunately, the prognosis of lung cancer stage IV poor to say the least (since the discovery of the final stage). In most cases, there are estimated to be only 10% 5-year survival rate for NSCLC, and the median survival rate [when 50% of patients were still alive, and 50% had died] only about 8-months. It is getting to be reduced to about 5% 5-year survival rate with SCLC, and only a few months if untreated.

Although, the factors that influence include: age, health, treatment options and patient response to the treatment, and the special characteristics of the tumor. It has also been known for certain cancer patients to survive against all odds longer than others (as in the main body to be more accommodating to care).