Cancer is a general term for a number of diseases which arises due to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in different parts of the body. Under normal circumstances, the number and growth of all our cells is a highly controlled mechanism. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also increase risk.

Causes of lung cancer:

• Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer. Chemicals in cigarette have been identified as causing cancer. A person who smokes more than one pack of cigarettes per day has a risk of developing lung cancer 20-25 times greater than someone who has never smoked.
• Tobacco use: About 90% of lung cancers arise due to tobacco use.
• Other causes:  Passive smoking, or secondhand smoke, presents another risk for lung cancer.
• Prolonged exposure to polluted air is similar to prolonged exposure to passive smoking in terms of risk for developing lung cancer.
• Asbestos exposure increases the risk of lung cancer by nine times.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer:

• Onset of wheezing
• Recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis
• Hoarseness
• Weight loss or loss of appetite
• Shortness of breath
• A persistent cough that does not go away
• Coughing up blood

Treatment:

• Surgery is the primary treatment for patients with early-stage cancer who are in good general health. The goal of surgery is to totally eliminate all the tumor cells and thereby provide a cure. Surgery is a possibility even if there are multiple tumors, or metastases, provided they are all close together at a site that the surgeon can reach.
• Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, delivers high-energy x-rays that can destroy rapidly dividing cancer cells. It has many uses in lung cancer: As primary treatment before surgery to shrink the tumor, after surgery to eliminate any cancer cells that remain in the treated area, to treat lung cancer that has spread to the brain or other areas of the body.