LUNG
CANCER - Basic Information
Lung cancers are
cancers that begin in the lungs. Other
types of cancers may spread to the
lungs from other organs. However, these
are not lung cancers because they did
not start in the lungs. When cancer
cells spread from one organ to another,
they are called metastases.
Research has
found several risk factors for lung
cancer. A "risk factor" is
anything that changes risk of getting
a disease. Different risk factors
change risk by different amounts.
The risk factors
for lung cancer include:
- smoking and
being around others' smoke
- things around
us at home or work (such as radon
gas)
- personal traits
(such as having a family history
of lung cancer
How To Quit Smoking?
Quitting is important
for anyone who smokes tobacco -- even
people who have smoked for many years.
For people who already have cancer,
quitting may reduce the chance of getting
another cancer. Quitting also can help
cancer treatments work better.
There are many
ways to get help:
Ask your doctor
about medicine or nicotine replacement
therapy, such as a patch, gum,
lozenge, nasal spray, or inhaler.
Your doctor can suggest a number
of treatments that help people
quit.
Ask your doctor
to help you find local programs
or trained professionals who help
people stop using tobacco.
* Call staff
at NCI's Smoking Quitline (1-877-44U-QUIT)
or instant message them through LiveHelp.
They can tell you about:
* ways to quit smoking
* groups that help smokers who
want to quit
* NCI publications about quitting
smoking
* how to take part in a study of
methods to help smokers quit
Go online to
Smokefree.gov (http://www.smokefree.gov),
a Federal Government Web site. It
offers a guide to quitting smoking
and a list of other resources.
The
Framework Convention Alliance for
Tobacco Control
Resources
MedlinePlus will direct
you to information to help answer
health questions. MedlinePlus brings
together authoritative information
from NLM, the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), and other government
agencies and health-related organizations.
MedlinePlus also has extensive information
about drugs, an illustrated medical
encyclopedia, interactive patient
tutorials, and latest health news.
To visit MedlinePlus online for Lung
Cancer with an extensive, constantly
updated resource list please
click here
More details, including medically
graphic images, can be found at the
CDC website. Please
click here
CDC's
lung cancer "fast facts" please
click here
CDC's Screening for lung cancer please
click here
has up-to-date information for patients
and practitioners about lung cancer.
To go to NCI main web page please
click here
NCI’s booklet about lung cancer.
NCI 2006, 51 pages (pdf 1.7MB). To
download the pdf file please
click here
ASCO
Answers is a series of fact sheets
that provides an introduction to
a specific type of cancer. Each fact
sheet is a PDF that includes an overview
of what the cancer is, an illustration
of where the cancer starts, how it
is treated, terms to know, and questions
to ask the doctor.
American Society of Clinical Oncology
(ASCO). 2008 2 pages, (pdf 636K.
To download the pdf file please
click here
is the nationwide community-based
voluntary health organization dedicated
to eliminating cancer as a major
health problem by preventing cancer,
saving lives, and diminishing suffering
from cancer, through research, education,
advocacy, and service.
To get to the
ACS Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
information pages please
click here
To get to the ACS Small Cell
Lung Cancer information pages please
click here
On-line tools
To estimate
your risk of lung cancer and learn
about ways to lower that risk, take
a few minutes to answer some questions
about your health, background, and
lifestyle. To take the questionnaire
online please
click here
Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer
in the US. But the good news is that
it doesn't have to be. Fully 90 percent
of all lung cancers could be prevented
if everyone quit smoking.
Learn more about
some of the materials available on-line
(more detailed information can be
found using the links on top of this
page)
Acknowledgment:
This text is adapted from the CDC
website.
