According to the WHO, lung cancer is common and kills more people than colon, breast, and liver cancers combined.
World Lung Cancer Day 2022
Every year, August 1 is commemorated as World Lung Cancer Day to increase awareness of the problems and dangers associated with lung cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that lung cancer is common and that more people die from it than from colon, breast, and liver cancers combined.
Cancer was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2020, accounting for close to 10 million fatalities, or close to one in every six. Like other cancers, lung cancer develops when normal cell division and growth are impeded, leading to aberrant, uncontrollable growth. The cells grow into a mass that resembles a tumour.
Lung cancer can take several years to develop. The most frequent risk factor for lung cancer is cigarette smoking. Many people will experience long-lasting pathological changes in their lungs as a result of exposure to cigarette smoke or some of its components. These changes may lead the lung to develop a malignant tumour.
History
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, and the American College of Chest Physicians first recognised the day in 2012.
The campaign, in general, is focused on everyone who has lung cancer, including those who have been able to beat the disease. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of potential lung cancer causes and to lend support to individuals who are already battling the fatal illness.
Significance
The prognosis for lung cancer is poor. Therefore, adopting a healthy lifestyle is advised. It is thought that if it is detected and treated early on, it may still be curable. Lung cancer symptoms include, among others, laboured breathing, a persistent cough, blood in the cough, back or chest discomfort, phlegm, and significant weight loss. In addition to stopping smoking, other preventative measures include avoiding tobacco products, engaging in daily exercise, and scheduling routine lung cancer screenings.
The course of a person’s lung cancer relies on the stage at which the disease has been identified. Surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiation therapy are the four main categories.
Screening For Lung Cancer
Around the world, 25% of persons who have never smoked are diagnosed with lung cancer. What what caused these instances is unknown. Two out of every three persons over 65 have lung cancer. Early signs of lung cancer can be identified by their symptoms, which might include a chronic cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, frequent respiratory infections, and unintended weight loss.
Lung cancer screening uses imaging and diagnostic techniques to discover the disease before symptoms appear. Every year, lung cancer screenings should be performed on people aged 50 to 80, smokers who have quit within the previous 15 years or who smoke 20 packs or more annually.
Your doctor will evaluate your age, smoking history, previous exposure to harmful substances, and other factors while doing a lung cancer screening. The Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) scan is a non-invasive, painless procedure. There is no special preparation required, however you will need to reschedule if you have a respiratory infection on the day of your scan.
Before the scan, you will remain still on the CT machine table with your arms raised above your head. As the table is slowly pushed through the CT machine’s centre, an X-ray machine is utilised to take pictures of the chest and lungs. The actual scan takes less than a minute. LDCT is a type of radiography scan that uses x-ray technology to create inside images of the chest. The LDCT of the chest is quite effective at detecting lung cancer at its earliest stages.
Screening can be helpful by offering advantages like:
- Lung cancer screening assists in detecting the condition when it is still treatable and prevents mortality. By screening, it is possible to find lung cancer in its early stages in 80% of cases.
- By getting screened for lung cancer, smokers will be inspired to live healthier lives. One may acquire healthier behaviours and choose a better lifestyle as a result of routine screening. It might serve as an alert to inform you of the current situation.
- Even if people’s free will cannot be controlled, early warning indications and confirmation of coming risks will go a long way toward helping and assisting the patients in being prepared for therapy.
Through screening, it will be possible to identify lung cancer early and treat people more quickly. Chemotherapy and radiation will feel less of a rush together. The likelihood of needing chemotherapy and radiation therapy will decrease with early treatment. Many people will be urged to either cease this habit, which will immediately protect them from the risk of cancer, or it will keep them from developing the full severity of the disease, as there is a potential that routine lung cancer screening will minimise the likelihood of any cancer therapy.
Despite the fact that lung cancer can be fatal, people who receive an early diagnosis have a better chance of surviving. People with a high risk of lung cancer might want to consider being checked frequently.
