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Stop smoking, prevent lung cancer
DR. R. NARASIMHAN
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Answers to some frequently asked questions on this deadly disease.
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The word cancer sends shivers down the spine. Among the cancers, lung cancer has the worst prognosis.
By the time diagnosis is made, the cancer has completed two-thirds of its life and corrective measures, chemotherapy or surgery, help only in a limited manner. Yet, many do not realise that stopping smoking can prevent lung cancer.
Is the onset of lung cancer sudden?
Unfortunately, no. It is very slow. One can harbour lung cancer for many years. It comes to light only when the patient has a check up for other illnesses.
Small cell lung cancer manifests with symptoms in other systems.
What are the causes?
Smoking is the most common cause as 85 per cent of the lung cancers are found in smokers and those who stopped smoking.
Another 15 per cent occurs in people who work with asbestos and uranium and those who have scars in the lung due to chronic diseases like TB.
How is smoking risk calculated?
The more cigarettes a person smokes, the higher their risk. The amount someone has smoked is often referred to as their pack years.
To calculate pack years, multiply the number of packs you smoked times a day by the number of years you smoked.
If you’ve quit, your risk is lower than it would be if you were still a smoker but remains higher than if you were a non-smoker.
If you want to minimise your risk of lung cancer, do not smoke. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
What are the symptoms?
There can be a variety of symptoms like coughing, wheezing, chest pain and blood in the sputum.
Some symptoms like a change in the quality of cough, even one episode of bloodstained sputum, change in the voice, unexplained loss of weight and appetite should alert one.
How can this deadly disease be diagnosed?
A clinical examination, sputum testing for cancer cells and chest x-ray help diagnosis.
But most of the tests miss cancer in the early stages.
What is bronchoscopy?
Bronchoscopy is a tool used to look in to your lungs. It is an extremely safe procedure that is done under local anaesthesia and sedation if necessary. It gives a more representative sample like washings from the airway tubes and if any suspicious pathology is seen it can be biopsied.
Does lung biopsy spread the disease?
If you can diagnose lung cancer with a biopsy, at least you can start treatment and look for a better quality of life.
Do CT-scans help diagnosis?
CT-scan is an advanced radiological technique that helps in picking up disease not picked up by x-rays.
This can not be used routinely on all persons but is extremely useful in smokers who exhibit changes in symptoms. CT scans help diagnose the disease at an early stage.
What are the treatment modes available?
It depends on the type of cancer and when it is diagnosed. If diagnosed at a late stage nothing can be offered. If diagnosed at an early stage surgery is possible.
Can a person lead a normal life after surgery?
We have five lobes to live with and you can live even if one lung is completely removed. The answer depends on how good the remaining lung is.
This is decided by pulmonary function test. This is done as a screening before the operation.
The writer is a Senior Respiratory Physician, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. E-mail : drrnarasimhan@gmail.com
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