The 4 Stages of Lung Cancer By Randolph Meresmaa

Lung cancer is a disease that is very hard to cure with conventional medicine. About 80% of all cases of newly diagnosed lung cancer are the non-small cell type (NSCLC). A majority of these patients will
have inoperable disease on the basis of distant metastases or locally advanced disease. For the remaining patients with early stage disease as well as selected patients with locally advanced disease, surgery remains the best hope for cure.

Less than 15% of all patients can presently be expected to be cured of their disease. The changes that a patient has of being cured depends of the stage he/she is at. There are 4 stages of lung cancer and each stages requires different treatments, although none of these treatments unfortunately is very effective. Doctors may use several tests to accurately stage a lung cancer, including laboratory tests, X-rays, CT scans, bone scans, and MRI scans.

The 4 stages of lung cancer are

1) Stage 1 disease - Patients that have this early stage typically have no symptoms and most are cured with primary surgical excision. The tumors are mostly found on a routine chest radiograph. Nowadays many tumors are detected while they are still very small with computed tomography (CT). Morbidity and mortality increase with higher stages of disease and extended resections. The overall five-year survival for patients with completely resected stage I NSCLC is approximately 75%.

2) Stage 2 disease - Patients with T1-2N1 represent a small subset in the spectrum of this disease, usually comprising less than 10% of patients coming to surgery. The overall five-year survival of patients with Stage 2 tumors is approximately 50-60%. In this stage the tumors also start to invade the mediastinal pleura, fat, nerves, and pericardium, but not the major mediastinal vessels or organs.

3) Stage 3 disease - The preffered treatment for for patients in Stage 3 A is complete resection via lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection. Patients with left upper lobe tumors. have the best prognosis of all, with five-year survival rates as high as 42% when completely resected. Computed Tomography (CT) scanning 5 year survival rate is approximately 30% following complete surgical resection. Patients with Stage 3 B are considered inoperable. The five-year survival for patients with
T4 (carina) N0 tumors undergoing tracheal sleeve pneumonectomy has been reported to approach 20%.

4) Stage 4 disease - Surgery for this stage is only limited for young, healthy patients with a solitary site of metastatic disease, and an easily resectable primary tumor contained within the chest. Five-year survival in these patients should approach 20%. Even if a cure is not obtained, survival is prolonged and quality of life improved.

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General Facts of Lung Cancer By K. Ngo

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled damaged cell growth in tissues of the lungs. This growth may spread to other organs, adjacent or non-adjacent tissue beyond the lungs. Lung cancer accounts for one of the most cancer-related deaths in both men and women, is responsible for 1.3 million deaths annually worldwide. In 2008, an estimated of 1961,840 Americans are expected to die from lung cancer, accounting for about one-third of all cancer deaths. More women have died each year from lung cancer than from breast cancer sine 1987. After several decade of increase, a female lung cancer death rate is now in a plateau and becomes the second cause of death behind breast cancer. From 1990-1994, death rates among men have decreased by 1.3% per year. Both indicators are good signs showing a decrease in smoking rates over the past 30 years in both men and women.

Just a bit over 215,000 new cases of lung cancer, accounts for an estimated of 15% of all cancer, were diagnosed in 2008. For treatment purposes, lung cancer is classified as small cell or non-small cell. These cells are treated differently. Treatment options vary by type of cells and the stages of cancer. Treatment methods may include one or a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy and surgery. Because the cancer has usually spread by the time it is discovered, radiation and chemotherapy are often used, and if necessary, in combination with surgery. Common lung cancer symptoms may include shortness of breath, persistent cough, or coughing up blood, chest pain, voice change, weight loss and recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis. Smoking cigarette is no doubt the biggest risk factor to lung cancer. Risk increases with the amount and the duration of cigarette smoking. There are many cancer-causing chemical compounds in tobacco smoke. Smoking cigars and pipes also cause lung cancer even though not as high a risk as smoking cigarette. Second hand smoke, occupational or environmental pollution or exposure to radon, asbestos and certain metals such as chromium, cadmium and arsenic, are factors to risk of lung cancer. Genetic plays an important role in the development of the disease, especially in those with the disease at a younger age.

Early detection has not proved to reduce mortality. Chest X-ray and bronchial passages fiberoptic examination is not too effective in reducing lung cancer deaths. Between 2000 and 2003, the 1-year relative survival rate has increased to 41% compared to 35% during the 1975 - 1979 period. However, only 15% of all the patients survive past the 5-year relative in all stages of the cancer combined.

Live well, eat healthy, exercise, stay optimist, don't ever smoke or quit smoking will help prevent getting cancer in the first place.

Paying attention to the water you drink daily is one way to prevent cancer development. About 70% of the bodies' weight is water. It is the very thing the body needs most. Water is accountable for many body functions. Drinking enough clean and fresh water not only improves your overall health and well-being, it may also prevent you from many ailments and sicknesses. Give your body the quality water it deserves and in turn, it will serve you with the optimal health and appearance you have always desired. For the best possible water for your health, right from the faucet, for pennies per gallon, please visit Drinking Water Safety. After all, who wants to fill 70% of their bodies' weight with impurities, toxins and chemical treated water?

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Mesothelioma and Life Expectancy By Joseph Devine

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, usually caused by exposure to asbestos. When an individual is diagnosed with the disease, there are many questions which will invariably go through their mind. Perhaps the most important one involves the patient's prognosis. That is, what is the life expectancy for someone diagnosed with mesothelioma?

As with any form of cancer, the survival rate for this condition is heavily dependent on how early it is diagnosed. If the disease is already in an advanced state when it is first detected, it will require far more aggressive treatment, with a reduced chance of success.

Unfortunately, the survival rate for mesothelioma has historically been rather low. Many patients do not survive longer than one year after diagnosis. The disease has often spread significantly before it is diagnosed, making it that much more difficult to treat. This is due to the fact that an individual exposed to asbestos can live for decades before any noticeable symptoms present themselves.

In addition, patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are often 55 years of age or older, and may have other medical conditions which complicate their treatment.

The good news is that there are many long-term survivors of mesothelioma, some of whom have lived a decade or more following diagnosis. Some doctors believe these patients survive longer not because of their particular treatment method, but because of other health characteristics specific to the individual. In general, healthier patients with no other existing medical conditions are more likely to survive longer than those with additional diseases and afflictions.

In terms of raw numbers, statistics show that about 10 percent of individuals with mesothelioma live for at least five years after being diagnosed. About 40 percent of those diagnosed survive for at least one year. These numbers are significantly higher than they were just 20 years ago, giving hope to doctors and patients alike.

A few of the other factors that affect survival rates include the specific type of mesothelioma with which an individual is diagnosed, the size and location of their tumor, and whether or not the patient is a smoker. These factors are in addition to the patient's age, any existing medical conditions they may have, and severity of the cancer itself.

For more information on life expectancy and treatment options, visit the mesothelioma attorneys at http://mesolawsuit.com/

Joseph Devine

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How to Find a Cure For Lung Cancer By Joshua McCarron

Why is everyone so hung up on the term "cure?" You can almost see them visibly cringe whenever the word cure is even mentioned. What's the deal? If you can locate a substance, that when applied to treat your lung cancer, completely takes your lung cancer away, isn't that a cure? Hasn't your lung cancer in fact, been cured? If it was there in your body, and now it isn't in your body...isn't that what cure means?

Of course, it's conventional medicine and all things mainstream that are so paranoid about using the word cure. And that is because any treatments they can offer are just that, treatments. They are not designed or intended to cure anything. Look at it this way. Drug companies control conventional cancer treatment. They're also huge corporations with shareholders. And as such, are required to legally do all they can to provide value to their shareholders in the form of increased profits. Now, if the treatments they provided actually cured your lung cancer and everyone else's cancer...how would they be able to stay in business? The answer is, they wouldn't. You'd receive your cure and they'd never hear from you again.

Wouldn't it make more sense to their bottom line to just 'treat' the cancer? Wouldn't it make more sense to just keep it at bay for years and years and years? Let's face it, if you're really interested in learning how to find a cure for lung cancer, chemotherapy and radiation and surgery ain't gonna cut it. Does that mean a cure for lung cancer doesn't exist? No, it means there is no money in the alternatives.

Luckily, there are hundreds of non-toxic, gentle treatments for lung cancer that will actually take it away for good. That will restore your body to a balance where cancer simply cannot survive. If you think of lung cancer as more of a symptom than a disease, you'll be that much closer to eradicating it. This can be one of those life changing moments you always hear about. Because if you really want to know how to find a cure for lung cancer, all you have to do is take action.

If you or someone you care about is dealing with any type of cancer and are looking for natural cures that really work, go take a look here: http://killcancernow.blogspot.com

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Prognosis For Lung Cancer - Treatment Review By Jenny Jackson

Can your cancer lung prognosis be improved? Cancer survivor, Karon Beattie, has compiled a cancer treatment reference book detailing over 350 alternative cancer treatments used by thousands of people who beat cancer. Although lung cancer is not always responsive to conventional cancer treatments, Beattie gives numerous accounts of people surviving lung cancer using alternative treatments. She states that these treatments are not covered by the FDA and usually not patentable by drug companies, resulting in poor knowledge among doctors.

Specifically in relation to lung cancer, Beattie's book, "Natural Cancer Treatments That Work", describes cases where a combination of nutritional supplements cured a patient's lung cancer. She gives an account of an across-the-counter supplement that nearly doubled the tumor response rate for non-small cell lung cancer in conjunction with chemotherapy.

Beattie goes on to describe how nine men with untreatable lung cancer experienced major improvements in their conditions after taking a common vitamin.

Beattie further describes a treatment that heats tumors without damaging surrounding tissue, resulting in survival rates of 91% at eighteen months after diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer for patients who had failed to respond to chemotherapy and radiation. This seems an astonishing outcome for a cancer given a poor prognosis by oncologists.

Beattie goes on to detail how a patented soup of cancer-fighting ingredients reversed a woman's stage IV non-small cell lung cancer and how a 54-year-old man eliminated a bean-sized tumor on his right lung after five weeks taking a mineral originally found in Lourdes, France, now more widely available. In addition, the author has collected first-hand accounts from 156 people who overcame lung cancer using natural and alternative treatments. It seems incredible that if stories like this are true, that they are not standard treatment for lung and other cancers.

Beattie says that the creators of the treatments detailed in her book, include respected Nobel Prize winners, biochemists, doctors, scientists and Ph.D.'s. She believes that many doctors may be unaware of these treatments because they only prescribe, and indeed are trained to prescribe treatments regulated by the FDA. Many of the alternative treatments she lists involve herbs and vitamins that are outside the jurisdiction of the FDA. Yet they are available.

Beattie does not advocate self-treatment and provides a detailed guide on where cancer patients can get these sorts of treatment and support.

Stories like these are hard to ignore for cancer sufferers and their loved ones who surely deserve the best available treatments.

Natural Cancer Treatments That Work is available from Alternative Medicine for Cancer Also available is a free guide on where to get treatment and support as well as free articles on cancer treatment options.

Prognosis For Lung Cancer

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Cancer Stages - Lung By K. Ngo

Lung cancer is one of the most deadly diseases for both men and women. Most lung cancers start in the cells that line bronchi, but they can also begin in other areas such as the Trachea (windpipe), bronchioles, or alveoli (the tiny air sacs at the end of the bronchioles. Like any other cancers, lung cancers are thought to develop over the course of many years. They may start as areas of pre-cancerous stages in the lung. At the earlier stage with changes happen within the cells themselves, no mass or tumor is formed at this stage, therefore, they cannot be seen on an x-ray and won't cause any symptoms. However, these pre-cancerous changes may progress to true cancer. At some point when the cancer cells grow and form a tumor large enough to be seen on x-rays, cells from the cancer may break away from the original tumor and spread (also known as metastasize) to other part of the body. Lung cancer is a life-threatening disease because it often spread far beyond the lung even before it can be detected.

There are two major types of lung cancers, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). If a lung cancer has both types of cancer, it is called mixed small/large cell cancer. This is not too common.

The two types of cancers are staged and treated differently.

• Non-small cell lung cancers make up 85% to 90% of lung cancers, they are staged from 0 to IV. Stage 0 being the earliest, most treatable and stage IV is most advanced.
• Small cell lung cancers make up 10% to 15% of lung cancers, labeled by Limited Stage Disease (cancer is on one side of the chest) and Extensive Stage Disease (spread beyond one side of the chest)

Here is a general view of the four stages of the non-small cell lung cancer:

• Stage 0: The cancer is found only in the top layers of cells lining the air passages. It has not invaded deeper into other lung tissues and has not spread to lymph nodes or distant sites.
• Stage I: The cancer is no larger than 3 centimeters (cm) across, has not reached the membranes that surround the lungs, and does not affect the main branches of the bronchi. It has not spread to lymph nodes or distant sites.
• Stage II: The cancer is no larger than 3 centimeters, has not grown into the membranes that surround the lungs, and does not affect the main branches of the bronchi. It has spread to lymph nodes within the lung and/or around the area where the bronchus enters the lung (hilar lymph nodes). It has not spread to distant sites.
• Stage III: The cancer is no larger than 3 centimeters, has not grown into the membrane that surrounds the lungs, and does not affect the main branches of the bronchi. The cancer has spread to lymph nodes around the carina (the point where the windpipe splits into the left and right bronchi) or in the space behind the breastbone and in front of the heart (mediastinum). Affected lymph nodes are on the same side as the primary tumor. The cancer has not spread to distant sites.
• Stage IV: The cancer can be any size and may or may not have grown into nearby structures or reached nearby lymph nodes. It has spread to distant sites.

There is much more on the staging of lung cancer to include in this article. For a more detail report on both non-small cell and small cell lung cancer stages, visit the website below.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 1 every 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the United States will develop cancer sometime during their life. The risk of developing most types of cancer can be reduced by changes in a person's lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, eating a better diet, drinking more clean and fresh water rather than alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. The sooner a cancer is found and treated, the better are the chances for living for many years.

There is much more detail information on the lung cancer stages to include in this article. Get the full Lung Cancer Stages Report Here.

Paying attention to the water you drink daily is one way to prevent cancer development.

About 70% of the bodies' weight is water. It is the very thing the body needs most. Water is accountable for many body functions. Drinking enough clean and fresh water not only improves your overall health and well-being, it may also prevent you from many ailments and sicknesses. Give your body the quality water it deserves and in turn, it will serve you with the optimal health and appearance you have always desired. For the best possible water for your health, right from the faucet, for pennies per gallon, please visit Drinking Water Safety. After all, who wants to fill 70% of their bodies' weight with impurities, toxins and chemical treated water?

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The Warning Signs of Pleural Thickening By Aaron Almus

If you have shortness of breath and/or pain in the chest, then you will want to read this article. Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer found in the lungs. In this article you will learn more about what pleural mesothelioma is and the warning signs of pleural thickening.

Your lungs have a lining or membrane that surrounds them. This same lining encases most other organs as well. In the lining around the lungs there are two layers. The inner most layer near the lung tissue is the visceral layer. The outer layer is called the parietal layer. In between them is a lubricating fluid to help the two layers slide back and forth over each other. The sliding action is from our lungs expanding and contracting during breathing.

In pleural mesothelioma the cancer begins in these layers. As the cancer spreads it causes the layer to become more restrictive and thus pleural thickening begins. As the pleural thickening increases the mesothelioma symptoms become greater. These symptoms include difficulty in breathing, difficulty in sleeping, pain in the chest and abdominal regions, blood vomits, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, lower back pains, persiste,nt coughing, hoarseness of voice, sensory loss and difficulty in swallowing. If you have any of these you should consult your doctor, especially if you have a history of exposure to asbestos.

If you go to the doctor as soon as you have any of these symptoms and are diagnosed with mesothelioma there is a much better chance of treatment. The first step of diagnosis is to have a chest x-ray or a CT scan completed. This will reveal any pleural thickening. This is followed by a bronchoscopy. A doctor may also elect to perform a biopsy or a thoracoscopy, where a mini camera is inserted inside the body and with that a tissue sample is attained for further diagnosis.

Treatment of mesothelioma is directly proportional to the time of the revelation of the disease. In the early stages the cancer can be removed through surgery and you can possible avoid having radiation treatment and chemotherapy.

To learn much more about the different types of mesothelioma, visit http://www.Mesothelioma-Cancer-Help.info/ where you will find this and much more, including the most common occupations for asbestos exposure, mesothelioma lawyers and mesothelioma treatments.

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