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Lung cancer
Early stage lung cancer symptoms
The most common early symptom of lung cancer includes coughing, coughing up blood, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. However, when the tumor grows in the larger bronchi, it often causes an irritating cough, leading many people to mistake it for a cold. Therefore, if an irritating cough occurs, it should be taken very seriously. The second point is that as the tumor continues to grow and affects the drainage of the bronchi, there is often an increase in purulent sputum, and the amount of sputum may also increase from before. The third commonly seen symptom is bloody sputum, which might be spots of blood in the sputum, streaks of blood, or intermittent small amounts of coughed-up blood. Large amounts of blood in the sputum are very rare.
Dietary therapy for lung cancer
In the diet of lung cancer patients, Western medicine does not have the concept of "trigger foods" like Chinese medicine does. According to Western medicine, there are no specific dietary restrictions; the focus is on maintaining a balanced diet as usual, incorporating meat, proteins, vegetables, and fruits to ensure nutritional balance. Generally, lung cancer patients may experience coughing symptoms, so it is advisable to consume a light diet avoiding oily fried foods. Extremely spicy foods can provoke irritative coughing and worsen it, so they should be avoided, along with barbecued and pickled foods, and junk food. Other than that, the diet should be similar to a normal balanced diet. For patients undergoing chemotherapy, a high-protein diet is recommended, preferably consisting of steamed or stewed dishes. These can be combined with traditional Chinese medicinal herbs such as Astragalus, American ginseng, and Dong quai, which are known to boost energy and enhance resistance, thus aiding in dietary therapy to strengthen the patient's immunity.
How long can one live with lung cancer?
The survival period of malignant tumors is a topic of great concern to everyone. The question of how long one can live with lung cancer is very difficult to answer. It should be based on the patient's physical condition and the pathological staging. However, these judgments are only based on a predictive basis and do not determine how long the patient can live. If the patient does not relapse after surgery, is sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and shows no signs of recurrence or resistance, then their five-year survival rate is naturally higher. If the patient experiences recurrence and metastasis after surgery, then the five-year survival rate is naturally lower. Therefore, the question of how long a person can live with a malignant tumor cannot be answered generically.
How to check for lung cancer?
How to check for lung cancer, firstly, for lung cancer screening, particularly in people over forty years old, especially smokers, it is recommended to regularly undergo low-dose spiral CT scans of the chest. Secondly, if a tumor is detected, it is suggested to proceed with enhanced CT scans, sputum cytology tests, or PET-CT. If it is confirmed that there is a tumor in the lungs, then a biopsy is needed. The biopsy can be performed under bronchoscopy, or transthoracic lung puncture and biopsy of living tissue can also be done, as well as biopsy of metastatic lesions or cytological examination of pleural effusion to diagnose whether it is lung cancer, the type of lung cancer, and certain immunohistochemical situations.
What tests are conducted for lung cancer?
Diagnosis of Lung Cancer: The first method can be through chest X-ray and CT scan; The second is sputum cytology examination; The third involves using a bronchoscopy; The fourth is mediastinoscopy, which allows direct observation of the enlargement of lymph nodes on both sides of the mediastinum; The fifth is to perform PET-CT, which is Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography; The sixth requires a biopsy; it can be done through a transthoracic needle biopsy, or via a bronchoscopic biopsy; The seventh is the biopsy of metastatic lesions, such as subclavian lymph nodes, and lymph node metastases in the neck or axillary areas can be examined; The eighth can involve drawing cancerous pleural effusion; if there is pleural effusion, pleural fluid cytology examination can be performed; The ninth method is thoracotomy exploration; if lung nodules or lung tumors cannot be definitively diagnosed through various other methods, thoracotomy exploration can be performed.
Does lung cancer cause coughing?
The most common symptoms of lung cancer patients include coughing, followed by coughing up blood, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. When the tumor grows in larger bronchi, it often causes an irritable cough, which can easily be mistaken for a cold. As the tumor continues to grow and affects the drainage of the bronchi, secondary lung infections can occur, possibly producing purulent sputum and an increased amount of coughed-up sputum. At this time, coughing becomes quite severe. Another symptom that may appear is blood in the sputum, which could be blood-streaked sputum, or sporadic, small amounts of coughed-up blood.
What is the treatment for lung cancer?
Treatment for lung cancer should be based on the pathological staging, the pathology type, the biological behavior of the lung cancer, and individualization, taking into account the patient's cardiopulmonary function and overall systemic condition to develop a personalized treatment plan. For non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, the treatment approaches differ significantly. Therefore, it is advisable for patients to seek treatment at specialized hospitals, under the guidance of oncology specialists. Generally, treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer include surgical resection, adjunctive chemoradiation, neoadjuvant chemoradiation, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. For small cell lung cancer, a comprehensive treatment plan combining chemoradiation, along with prophylactic cranial irradiation and other aggressive treatments, is recommended. Each individual's situation might differ, so it is important to focus on a personalized comprehensive treatment plan rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
How is lung cancer treated?
For the treatment of lung cancer, it should currently be based on a comprehensive treatment method tailored to the patient's age, specific condition, nutritional status, economic condition, and the capabilities available at the hospital. It is particularly related to the stage of the disease and the type identified in the tissue biopsy. Currently, lung cancer primarily adopts a multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment approach spearheaded by surgical intervention. Surgical treatment is the preferred method for lung cancer, but since it is a systemic disease, surgery alone cannot completely address the issue. Therefore, it must be combined with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other treatments in a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach. Additionally, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are inseparable and crucial parts of integrated treatment strategies for lung cancer. If the disease is staged and involves adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, surgical treatment is recommended followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or targeted and immunotherapy. If surgery is not possible, some supportive treatments can be considered. For small-cell lung cancer, surgery is not recommended because it offers no benefit; instead, a combined approach of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is advised.
Staging of Lung Cancer
The staging of lung cancer is of great clinical significance for the selection of clinical treatment plans and the prediction of prognosis. According to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the World Health Organization, lung cancer is staged based on the size of the primary tumor (T stage), the condition of tumor lymph node metastasis (N stage), and the presence of distant metastases (M stage). Lung cancer is classified according to these criteria, which are used internationally. Currently, there are UICC staging and AJCC staging, which are two different systems.
How is lung cancer diagnosed?
Lung cancer is one of the malignant tumors and falls under respiratory system diseases. The gold standard for the diagnosis of malignant tumors is biopsy. Thus, lung cancer is no exception; it requires a biopsy and immunohistochemistry to determine the type of cancer and its pathological type. So how is the biopsy obtained? We can use a bronchoscope to directly observe the tumor and collect small tissue samples for pathological examination. Additionally, there is the thoracic wall lung puncture biopsy, where tissue from the tumor can be sampled using a fine needle. These samples are observed under a microscope to differentiate the pathological types and to further confirm the diagnosis.