Diagnosing Lung Cancer

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Lung Cancer
Introduction
Lung cancer refers to an abnormal and uncontrollable growth of cells on either one or both the lungs. The abnormal cells are not in a position to carry out any of the normal functions of the lung cells and cannot grow into healthy lung tissues. As they develop, the abnormal cells may form tumors as well as interfere with the normal functioning of the lung, which is purifying oxygen that is used by the rest of the body via the blood. Lung cancer is one of the many cancer types that originate in the lungs. The lungs of human beings are spongy organs, two in number, located in the chest and are used to take in oxygen during inhalation and release carbon dioxide during exhalation.
Lung cancer has been identified as one of the leading causes of the cancer deaths in America among both women and men. The disease claims more lives every year than prostate, colon, breast cancers and ovarian. People who smoke have been identified as to be at the highest risk of having lung cancer. Lung cancer risk increases with the number and the length of time one takes cigarettes. If an individual stops smoking, regardless of the number of years he or she has been smoking, the individual can reduce the chances of getting lung cancer significantly. All the body cells are made up of DNA. Every time a mature cell undergoes division giving rise into two new cells, the DNA of the mother cell is exactly duplicated. The new cells are identical copies of the mother cell. In this way, the bodies of human beings continually replenish as old cells die and the new generation replaces them. Lung cancer starts with an error, commonly referred to as a mutation in the DNA of the cells. The DNA mutations are caused by several factors including the process of normal aging or through environmental factors like breathing in of asbestos fibers, radon gas exposure and cigarette smoking (Lane 2)
Studies and researchers indicate that it requires a series of mutations for a lung cancer cell to develop. Before the cell becomes fully cancerous, it can be precancerous. This way, the cell will still have some mutations but will still function as a normal lung cell. When a genetic mutated cell undergoes division, it passes on the abnormal genes to the new cells, which then divides into more and more cells with the mutation passing on and on. With every new mutation, the cell in the lung tissue becomes more and more mutated until it becomes ineffective in carrying out its functions as lung cell. At the later stages of lung cancer, some of the cells may move away from the original tumor and begin growing towards other body parts. Primary lung cancer begins from the lung when the cancer cells mutate to abnormal lung cells. In some cases, patients will experience their cancer move from the point of origin to another body part or sometimes metastasize in the lungs. This is commonly termed as secondary cancer as the lungs in this c...