Literature Review on Lung Cancer And Its Effects on Society
Taylor R. PeedinLung cancer is one of the most deadly cancers people deal with in the United States, only 15% affected living live for more than 2 years after the cancer is found. It is proven that lung cancer is responsible for more cancer related deaths than breast cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer combined. Lung cancer deaths have raised a significant amount among both men and women in the recent years. In 2010, “there were 87,740 deaths due to lung cancer in men and 70,578 in women.” It is proven however that over the years, more men are diagnosed with lung cancer but more women are dealing with the disease.
Some of the main causes of lung cancer are cigarette smoking and second hand smoking; asbestos, arsenic, and radon poisoning from paint on buildings; and unfortunately genetics. Cigarettes are proven to be the greatest causes of lung cancer. Studies prove that 95% of people who are exposed to cigarettes first or secondhand are likely to get lung cancer. “Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.” It is also proven that 3,400-lung cancer related deaths are caused by second hand smoking. Second hand smoking is just as bad as regular smoking due to the fact that the individual is still exposed to the smoke, which contains the harmful chemicals the cigarettes contain. Although this is easier said than done, the best way to prevent lung cancer in dealing with smoking is to not smoke at all. The more someone smokes or someone is exposed to the smoke, the higher the risk. Asbestos, arsenic, and radon cancer is caused mainly from and individual inhaling or ingesting it. These poisons once entering the body change healthy cells and over time kill them off, allowing the tumorous cells to grow in their place. Having your house or work building checked for these chemicals can greatly prevent exposure and ultimately the development of cancer. Genetics aren’t as common but definitely a factor. If there is a family history of lung cancer, then there is in fact a higher chance someone from that family. If a family member, such as a parent, sibling, or child, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, than your chances of developing the disease almost doubles. If this were the case, a regular checkup with a doctor would highly be necessary in order to catch the cancer early so the likelihood of survival would be higher.
To continue the literary review, there are three important factors when dealing with lung cancer: incidence, survival and mortality. The reason these are so crucial for the study of lung cancer is because it shows the specific cancer (incidence), occurrence of death in general (survival), and also the occurrence of death from a specific cancer (mortality). This study explains how the age of diagnosis (meaning how long the cancer has been developing in the body before being diagnosed), greatly affects the age of death, due to the fact that the more severe cancer is likely to kill someone more quickly than someone who caught cancer early. Studies show that the people who catch cancer in the earlier stages tend to survive, because the cancer hasn’t really spread all over the body in early stages, it is easier to treat and even remove, unlike a later stage of cancer where it has spread almost all over the body and nearly impossible to control and treat.
There are two main ways to treat lung cancer, but either way comes with harsh consequences. The first way is chemotherapy and radiation. This will allow the patient to live a little longer. Radiation therapy uses radiation of high energy to kill the cancerous cells by damaging the diseases DNA. Chemotherapy kills off or shrinks the bad cells and can also save the individuals life if the cancer cells don’t grow back (which unfortunately in later diagnosis is always the case). However, chemo and radiation also kills off the healthy cells, which is the consequence of these treatments. By killing off the healthy cells, this makes it very unbearable for the patient to live due to the fact that it can make them feel even more sick (nauseous, fatigue, inability to walk, loss of hair, exhaustion, memory loss, blood thinning, etc.). In one study in 2006-2008, researchers experimented with elderly patients of ages 70-91 who had lung cancer. It showed how more elderly patients didn’t take the chemotherapy and other treatments. This is probably due to their age and their likelihood to not live much longer, unlike a younger person who still had much of their life to live or would want to be here to raise their children if they were a mother or father.
The study discussed in my recent paragraph helps introduce the other way people can treat their cancer, which is by not taking medication at all. A lot of people naturally deal with cancer in order to live their last few days as themselves, rather than someone extremely sick off of chemo and radiation therapy. However, the consequence of this is that there is absolutely no guarantee that you will survive or that you will live as long as you would if you had taken treatment. So obviously, neither chemo and radiation therapy nor naturally dealing with the disease is an easy choice for the patient.
In conclusion, lung cancer is a very serious issue that many people face among the United States as well as around the world. And not having an actual cure for the disease doesn’t make it any easier to control and deal with. However, the best ways to prevent it is to stay away from smoking, eat healthy, exercise, and regularly check up with your doctor to insure you can catch it ahead of time and have a higher chance of survival. If people would live better and healthier life styles and researchers continued to search for cures, we can better our chances of stopping this terrible disease.
Work Cited:
Minna, John D., and Yang Xie. “Predicting the future for people with lung cancer.”Nature Medicine 14.8 (2008): 812+. Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Aug. 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014
Girones, Regina, Dolores Torregrosa, José Gómez-Codina, Inma Maestu, Jose MaríaTenias, and Rafael Rosell. “Lung Cancer Chemotherapy Decisions in Older Patients: The Role of Patient Preference and Interactions with Physicians.” Clinical and Translational Oncology. Accessed September 5, 2014.
Libby Ellis, Laura M. Woods, Jacques Estève, Sandra Eloranta, Michel P. Coleman, andBernard Rachet”Cancer Incidence, Survival and Mortality: Explaining the Concepts.” June 19, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
Milano, Michael T., Strawderman, Robert L., Venigalla, Sriram, Ng, Kimberly, andTravis, Lois B.”Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer After Breast Cancer A Population-Based Study of Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Survival Outcomes in 3529 Women.” JOURNAL OF THORACIC ONCOLOGY. August 1, 2014. Accessed September 9, 2014.
Kim, Claire H., Lee, Yuan-Chin Amy, Hung, Ray jean J., McNallan, Sheila R., Cote,Michele L., and et al. “Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke and Lung Cancer by Histological Type: A Pooled Analysis of the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO).” International Journal of Cancer. October 15, 2013. Accessed September 7, 2014
“Lung Cancer Fact Sheet.” American Lung Association. AccessedSeptember 28, 2014.