Lung cancer is described as a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the lung. In the United States, lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer. In 2016, there has been an estimation of 224,390 new cases of lung cancer, and the estimated number of deaths from the disease is 158,080 deaths. The number of deaths among women with the disease is increasing. Lung cancer is much more common among older people. According to statistics at m.cancer.org, “About 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older, while less than 2% are younger than 45. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 70.” [m.cancer.org, “What Is Lung Cancer - Non-Small Cell? Key statistics for lung cancer” N.p., 02/08/2016. (m.cancer.org)]
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The names for these types of cancer come from the way the cells look underneath a microscope. Of these two cancers, non-small cell lung cancer is the more common cancer. Lung cancer is primarily caused by smoking tobacco. Other causes of lung cancer are exposure to second hand smoke, family history of lung cancer, radiation therapy treatment for either the breast or the chest, exposure to asbestos, chromium, nickel, arsenic, soot, or tar in the workplace, living in an air polluted area, being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and others. Symptoms of both types of these cancers include: chest discomfort or pain, coughing that does not go away or gets worse as time progresses (or coughing up mucus with blood in it), trouble breathing, wheezing, hoarseness, loss of appetite, unexplainable weight loss, feeling very tired, trouble swallowing, and swelling in the face and/or veins in the …show more content…
The other types of non-small cell lung cancer that are more well-known are squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma), large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma is named for the fact that it begins in squamous cells. Squamous cells are thin, flat scales that look similar to fish scales. Large cell carcinoma is cancer that may begin in several large cell types. Lastly, there is adenocarcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the alveoli. It also makes substances such as mucus. Even though non-small cell lung cancer is mostly associated with being caused by cigarette smoke, adenocarcinomas can also appear in patients who have never smoked. In addition to these more common types of non-small cell lung cancer, there are also other more uncommon non-small cell lung cancers such as pleomorphic, carcinoid tumor, salivary gland carcinoma, and unclassified carcinoma. Molecularly targeted therapy has been developed due to the identification of mutations in lung cancer. Molecularly targeted therapy’s purpose is to help improve the survival of patients with metastatic disease (in this case, metastatic cancer). Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from where it originally started to somewhere else in the body. Its name and types of cancer cells have the same name as the cancer it began as. This means that lung cancer that spreads to the throat and
The names for these types of cancer come from the way the cells look underneath a microscope. Of these two cancers, non-small cell lung cancer is the more common cancer. Lung cancer is primarily caused by smoking tobacco. Other causes of lung cancer are exposure to second hand smoke, family history of lung cancer, radiation therapy treatment for either the breast or the chest, exposure to asbestos, chromium, nickel, arsenic, soot, or tar in the workplace, living in an air polluted area, being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and others. Symptoms of both types of these cancers include: chest discomfort or pain, coughing that does not go away or gets worse as time progresses (or coughing up mucus with blood in it), trouble breathing, wheezing, hoarseness, loss of appetite, unexplainable weight loss, feeling very tired, trouble swallowing, and swelling in the face and/or veins in the …show more content…
The other types of non-small cell lung cancer that are more well-known are squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma), large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma is named for the fact that it begins in squamous cells. Squamous cells are thin, flat scales that look similar to fish scales. Large cell carcinoma is cancer that may begin in several large cell types. Lastly, there is adenocarcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the alveoli. It also makes substances such as mucus. Even though non-small cell lung cancer is mostly associated with being caused by cigarette smoke, adenocarcinomas can also appear in patients who have never smoked. In addition to these more common types of non-small cell lung cancer, there are also other more uncommon non-small cell lung cancers such as pleomorphic, carcinoid tumor, salivary gland carcinoma, and unclassified carcinoma. Molecularly targeted therapy has been developed due to the identification of mutations in lung cancer. Molecularly targeted therapy’s purpose is to help improve the survival of patients with metastatic disease (in this case, metastatic cancer). Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from where it originally started to somewhere else in the body. Its name and types of cancer cells have the same name as the cancer it began as. This means that lung cancer that spreads to the throat and