What is Lung Cancer: The Facts
From the office of Dr. Laurence Magne, author of www.Cancer-free-for-life.com
We hear a lot about it, thanks to cigarette smoking, but what is lung cancer really? The lungs are a pair of cone-shaped organs, located in your chest and made up of spongy material. They are the central agent of the respiratory system and vital to your life. The left lung has two lobes, or sections, while the right lung has three lobes.
When we inhale, we bring oxygen into our body which is needed by all of our cells to function and carry out their individual tasks. In the process of carrying out these tasks, they create carbon monoxide, which we then exhale.
Like any cancer, lung cancer can potentially afflict anyone. Some people are at higher risk for developing lung cancer, just like some people are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer.
However, unlike most other forms of cancer, there is one single and highly preventable carcinogen responsible for most lung cancer: tobacco products. While tobacco isn’t the only carcinogen that can cause lung cancer, it’s been estimated that it is responsible for nearly 90 percent of all lung cancer cases. To learn more about how disease and cancer are created in the body, read Cancer Free For Life.
So, what exactly is lung cancer?
The lungs are made of cells which are programmed by nature to operate in certain ways. These natural instructions are encoded in the DNA of each cell. One portion of those instructions includes the number of times a cell is meant to divide. All cells divide a certain number of times before dying, usually around 75 times.
Sometimes these instructions become damaged or garbled and the cell begins to reproduce chaotically and without limits. It is basically the microscopic version of anarchy.
As the cell continues to reproduce, the new cells contain the same damaged instructions. They, in turn, multiply and produce more new cells with damaged instructions. Sooner or later this mass, known as a tumor, becomes so large that it clogs up the lung and makes it stop functioning.
However, because the lungs provide a large space for the tumors to grow, the growth can go on for many years before it produces symptoms. The most common symptom, a persistent cough, is frequently misjudged as either a cold or bronchitis.
Lung cancer is extremely common, accounting for approximately 15 percent of all new cancer cases annually.
As with any cancer, the course of traditional treatment is generally based on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the type of tumor and the stage it’s in. The overall state of a person’s health and other medical problems will also be taken into consideration.
The standard scientific approaches to curing cancer need to be approached carefully, however. Often times, the effects of these treatments are as dangerous as the cancer they are treating, due to the weakening of the immune system. Explore all of your options and make the most intelligent decision possible regarding your individual treatment.
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About the Author
My name is Laurence Magne, Ph D(c). For the past 25 years, I have been involved in the field of health and health research, investigating the reasons why we get sick, and whether we can get well outside of the medical field, using alternative solutions. I have read over 3,000 books on the related topics, counseled many clients and conducted many lectures and trainings.
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