Lung cancer in different countries and care

There is a feel among the public that the lung cancer is a self-inflicted disease thus introducing a stigma to the affected persons. Although eighty to ninety percent of the people have cancer because of smoking it is not that they deserve the disease. The bias is not only seen in a common person but also among the doctors and there are examples to prove this. To mention a few , the physicians refer less number of lung cancer patients to oncologists when compared to the breast cancer patients, breast cancer patients are advised to take further therapy but lung cancer patients are stopped with the symptom control.

Because of all these reasons, the lung cancer patients are more embarrassed compared to the other mentioned one and they feel stigmatized whether they smoked or not. Some have lead to financial consequences and loss of social support. Clearly, there is a different perspective towards lung cancer from an individual to the government. It’s not fair to blame each and every individual for this , instead we can make a difference by supporting other cancer patients also.

Several studies have shown that religiosity and spirituality play a very important role in coping with the treatment procedure to survive cancer. It is shown that the benefits are more for person with the above two types of beliefs. This belief can be achieved by either praying god or doing exercise, yoga and meditation. Faith is a key for faster recovery, which is given by the above two definitions Individuals having faith will have different coping styles normally very active and eager to live.

The benefits are not only for the cancer patients but also for the caretakers. A recent study shows that a patient leading a spiritual life show better results in the chemotherapy. They also lead a better quality of life which is also needed in the survival battle. We also come across people, in spite of having a religiosity and leading a spiritual life lost their battle with cancer. Even though the studies done to know the importance of these are at a smaller case, this has been added as a technique in the treatment of cancer.

Radiotherapy is a treatment that uses radiation as its source. A high energy radiation source is incident on the cancer cells to kill them. Lung cancer treatment uses this therapy to kill the cancer cells present in the lungs. The radiation can be given from inside or outside the body i.e. internally or externally. The high energy radiation destroys the DNA of the cells especially the faster dividing ones, leading to their death.

Since cancer cells are faster dividing ones, they are more susceptible to this damage. The healthy cells are affected as well but can be repaired easily. Radiation therapy for lung cancer is usually given on a daily basis, for a period of half a year. Before the commencement of the treatment, the part of the body or lung overlying the tumor is marked using a permanent ink so that the oncologist aim at this particular area. At the end of the process the oncologist will be deciding on the amount of the radiation dosage to be given during the entire therapy.

One half of the people suffering from lung cancer are diagnosed to have metastases where in the cancer cells present in the lungs spread to the other parts of the body. These cells when they break starts spreading through the bloodstreams travelling to the nearby as well as distant regions of the body and grow there affecting that particular area. This is what is called as Metastases. They can spread to any region of the body but preferably to lymph nodes; liver ; bones; brain.

Most of the lung cancer spread to the lymph nodes of the chest since it is nearer to lungs. This spread generally doesn’t have any symptoms. The most common bones that are affected are the spine, pelvis, upper bones of the arms and legs. The major symptom for this kind of a spread is pain. The most commonest among various spread is to the brain , called as the brain metastases. The cancer cells in the brain can destroy the tissues and cause inflammation and swelling that pressurizes its structure. CT and MRI scan are usually done to diagnose these spreads.

The smoking rate is known to be higher in Japan that the United states, which is popularly known for it. However, the number of individuals affected by lung cancer is at the minimum level in spite of a large amount of smoking rate which is known to be the main reason behind lung cancer. The question is not about the effect of smoking, a known fact, but about why Japanese are less susceptible to it.

The reasons can be listed as the type of genes present in them ; their dieting habits; exercising habits ; low fat content in their diet; limited consumption of alcohol ; less amount of carcinogens present in the cigarette and higher efficiency. Researchers around the world tried to change themselves like the Japanese in various scenarios to decrease their own risks but still the genetic factor is a one that cannot be inherited. However researches on latter, are still going on. They have decided to consider on limiting their alcohol intake and taking high fat foods.