Battling Cancer

By Ajishnu Sharma

General Information on Lung Cancer

Lung cancer, or carcinoma of the lung, is one of the most common forms of cancer today. It is one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related mortality in the United States today. In the United States, another form of cancer that is becoming increasingly common is breast cancer, which is the development of malignant tissue in the breast. Breast cancer is seen mostly in women, though this does not mean that men are immune to it. A small percentage of men too contract breast cancer. The numbers are small, 1 man with breast cancer against a 100 women with it, but its there. However, there is one major difference between breast cancer and lung cancer. One can see the symptoms of breast cancer at an early stage, while in the case of lung cancer, the symptoms are not detected early, primarily because they match the symptoms of other lesser ailments. In this article, we will discuss lung cancer.

A person is said to suffer from lung cancer when a growth of malignant cancer cells is detected in the lungs. Depending on the stage at which lung cancer is detected, it can be classified as being in the:

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By David Silva

Unlike other forms of lung cancer, metastatic lung cancer is the result of a cancer from another part of the body spreading to the lungs. When a malignancy develops in the body (most often in the breasts, colon, prostate, or bladder, though almost all cancers have the ability to spread) it can sometimes spread through the blood stream. When these malignancies settle into the pulmonary tissues, such as the alveoli (the final vein-like branches of the respiratory system) and the supporting tissues of the respiratory structures, the cancer has metastasized to the lungs.

Unfortunately, treating metastatic lung cancer presents significant challenges. Since the cancer has spread from another part of the body, treatment not only involves addressing the cancer in the lungs, but also the original cancer and any other areas of the body that may have also become affected. In some cases, if the primary tumor is successfully removed and if the spread of the tumor cells to the pulmonary regions is relatively localized, then the management of the cancer by surgical techniques may do the job. However, if the metastatic lung cancer is extensive, because so many areas of the body may be under the influence of the cancer, certain treatments (such as surgery, and in many cases, radiation therapy as well) may prove ineffective. Which leaves most patients with chemotherapy as the primary treatment of choice.

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San Francisco Business Times - 2:51 PM PST Thursday

Cytokinetics Inc. said Thursday that a clinical trial of ispinesib, an experimental lung cancer treatment, failed.

The South San Francisco drug company (NASDAQ: CYTK) said the Phase II trial, run by GlaxoSmithKline, failed to meet the criteria to advance to the next stage of clinical testing.

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By Dr. Shalini Mulaparthi
For the Times Herald-Record

The recent death of Dana Reeve from lung cancer at age 44 put a spotlight on a devastating disease whose causes and prevention are frequently misunderstood.

In fact, it’s the very attention being given to the disease that is creating much of the confusion: Whenever circumstances increase the amount of public dialogue surrounding a serious disease, it can become difficult to distinguish between the useful and misguided - or outright false - information.

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When Dana Reeve, widow of actor Christopher Reeve, died of lung cancer, the stories of her death pointed out that she didn’t smoke. She was young, only 44; she had nursed her paralyzed husband for eight years; she left a 13-year-old son an orphan. And how could she have gotten lung cancer? She had never smoked.Lung cancer is often preventable, and it is usually fatal.

Unfortunately I will also become a victim of this disease. Not for myself, but a victim because I am a friend of a lung cancer person. One of my very dearest friends will undergo a lung operation this coming Tuesday.

According to the American Lung Association, 87 percent of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Another 12 percent are linked to radon exposure.

Only 15 percent of people diagnosed with the disease will still be alive five years after the diagnosis; 60 percent die within the first year. What is Chemoprevention? For individuals who demonstrate the greatest risk, researchers are currently conducting several new trials to test the use of natural and synthetic substances to prevent development of the disease. This new research has been coined, chemoprevention. More →