How to Detect Lung Cancer Early

How to detect Lung cancer early? Lung
cancer screening & prevention

 

lung cancer is the second most
common type of cancer unfortunately more people die of lung cancer compared to the colon, Breast, and prostate cancers all combined.

That's because lung cancer is
usually detected late when it has grown in size or spread and is harder to cure.

 

But we can make things better the
best way is to avoid things that cause lung cancer and secondly do screening
tests in people who are at higher risk to detect when the cancer is in its early
stages. so let’s Read about how to detect lung cancer before it makes the reason to
die.

 

Smoking
Causes

The number one reason for developing
lung cancer is smoking. nine out of ten lung cancers are associated with
smoking. the more exposure the higher the Risk.

So the most important thing you can do
is to Never Smoke and if you do smoke try your best to quit as soon as possible.
after finishing the risk of lung cancer starts decreasing with every passing year
and by 10 years the risk is half compared to when you were smoking.

Remember it's never too late to quit
quitting will save you from all different types of cancers and many health
problems.

 

Screening
& Prevention

an early diagnosis of lung cancer is
important for successful treatment the United States Preventative Services Task
Force recommends annual screening in high-risk people using a CT scan of the Chest.

Unfortunately, a simple chest x-ray is insufficient to detect small lung cancers, which is why we use CT.

it is recommended for people between
50 to 80 years of age who are current smokers or if it has been less than 15 years
since they quit smoking and have 20 or more pack years of smoking history in
their life.

 

Calculate your Cigarette Usage

pack-years is a way to assess how
much a person is smoked in their life to calculate pack years multiply the number
of cigarette packs a person smoked per day by the number of years of Cigarette use.

for example, a person who smokes one
pack per day for 20 years has a 20-pack-year history.

if someone smokes half a pack for 40
years that would also be 20 pack years. for people who meet these criteria, a yearly
low-radiation CT scan of the lungs should be performed.

you can stop the testing if it has
been more than 15 years since quitting Smoking. although getting a CT scan
every year might seem like a lot of radiation with advances in medical imaging
the amount of radiation from each scan is now much lower and much safer. on the
CT scan, we look for any abnormal spots or nodules that may be concerning for Lung
cancer.

most people will not have any nodules
which are good but at times we find spots that need to be evaluated further having
a nodule does not always mean it's cancer depending on its size shape and
location the expert doctors May recommend keeping a close eye on it with repeat
CT scans. or they may consider a biopsy to obtain a sample or surgery to
remove the affected part.

 

Although dealing with the results of
the screening CT scan may seem stressful it is important to know that if a spot
ends up being cancer then it can be taken care of at an earlier stage and we
have more chances of cure.

keep in mind even if your first CT
scan is normal new spots can still develop with time. so you should continue screening
every year as long as you are still eligible ask your lung doctors if you have
any questions by avoiding smoking and obtaining appropriate screening tests we
can save many lives let's be grateful for the gift of Health.