Lung Cancer Symptoms

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Responsible for the highest number of mortalities amongst both the male and female populations of the World, Cancer of the lung is widely recognized as the most virulent form of cancer.

Strangely though it may seem, lung cancer was fairly unknown before the mid nineteen thirties. Many people contracted lung cancer as a result of cigarette smoking, as in these days; no one connected the fact that smoking is a major contributory factor of the onset of cancer in the human body. Recent years has brought the realization of the real and present fear of cigarette smoking and the damages it can cause. Smoking in public places has been banned in many parts of the World, and rightly so. Fear of contracting passive cancer from other people's cigarette smoke has gone a long way to bringing about this law, as well as the fact, that non- smokers are increasingly vociferous in stating their objections to smoking, both for their own good and for that of the public at large. Including the rapidly dwindling community of smokers.

Despite the increased public awareness of the dangers of cigarette smoking, estimates are that 90% of lung cancercases are due to it. Early statistics are beginning to show a decrease, however someone who stopped smoking twenty years may have done sufficient damage to their lungs to spark of the disease at any time. Statistics show that 15% of the global population, who have been smokers at some time in their lives, will succumb to lung cancer.

Sadly people who have been smokers or still smoke are incline to either ignore the lung cancer symptoms, or have gotten so used to the daily afflictions that they have to withstand in order to continue smoking, and are diagnosed only when it is too late to do anything to help them

However if lung cancer is detected sufficiently early and operated on, the chances of surviving the disease can be as high as 85%.

Lung cancer symptoms are as follows:

  1. A chronic cough.
  2. Increasing breathlessness.
  3. Sudden and unexplained weight loss.
  4. Pains in chest which become gradually constant.
  5. Coughing up blood.
Doctors report that it is only when patient's begin to cough up blood do they begin to realize that something may be seriously wrong with them.

Any visit to the doctor or local health center, and the early the better; will provide the lung cancer sufferer with the chance of a cure. You should also remember that not all cases of lung cancer are brought on by smoking. Anyone displaying the first signs of the symptoms above should be able to define these symptoms earlier than the chronic smoker.