Lung Cancer is not caused solely by smoking or inhaling cigarette smoke, but there are many other factors that can cause lung cancer even if you do not smoke.
Lung cancer refers to the occurrence where lung tissue cells divide excessively beyond control, growing and spreading together into a tumor, and can also spread to other organs.
Lung cancer is a common cancer in Thailand, ranking 2nd in males and 4th in females. It is difficult to detect in the early stages because symptoms do not appear. Most patients who visit doctors already have advanced disease symptoms. However, at any stage, there are ways to care for and treat the disease, which can result in longer survival or improved quality of life when diagnosed at the correct stage and treated properly.
Risk Factors for Lung Cancer
There are two types of risk factors for lung cancer: internal factors that cannot be controlled, such as heredity or genetics, and external factors that can be controlled, such as smoking and air pollutants. The risk factors for lung cancer include:
- Smoking: About 85% or more of lung cancer patients have a history of smoking. Substances in cigarettes directly affect the lungs, with about 60 toxic and carcinogenic substances. Even after quitting, the risk remains. Smokers have a 10 times higher risk of developing lung cancer. The more and longer you smoke, the higher the risk. This also includes those exposed to secondhand smoke (30% of non-smokers who die from lung cancer are those living close to smokers).
- Cigars and pipes also increase the risk of lung cancer.
- Asbestos: Used as a fireproof material, heat insulation sheets in buildings, some types of insulation, textile industry, etc. Inhaling asbestos causes lung irritation.
- Radon: A colorless, odorless gas commonly found in natural soil or areas with uranium minerals. Radon evaporates from the ground and harms the lungs.
- Other substances such as chromium, nickel, heavy industrial dust, oil vapor fumes, soot, and air pollution.
- Lung diseases: People with pulmonary tuberculosis have a higher chance of developing lung cancer, which occurs at the scar sites from tuberculosis infection.
Symptoms and Signs
Most lung cancer patients do not show symptoms until the disease has advanced. Only about 10-15% of patients are diagnosed at an early stage, which has a higher chance of cure. The symptoms and signs of lung cancer include:
- Persistent cough that does not improve like a normal cough but worsens over time
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hoarseness
- Fatigue, easy tiredness
- Coughing or sputum mixed with blood
- Chest, shoulder, back, and arm pain regularly (possibly due to tumor pressure)
- Loss of appetite, weight loss
- Swelling of the face, neck, or arms
- Frequent pneumonia or bronchitis
The symptoms mentioned above are not early-stage lung cancer symptoms because early lung cancer usually has no symptoms. Doctors often find it incidentally through chest X-rays or annual physical examinations.
Phyathai 1 Hospital recognizes the quality of care for all cancer patients, including lung cancer patients. In cases suspected of lung cancer, patients are referred for diagnosis by respiratory specialists using modern medical technology. After diagnosis confirms lung cancer, the attending physician will present the diagnostic results at the MDT Cancer committee meeting, which is a team of medical professionals from various fields, including respiratory specialists, diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and medical oncologists specializing in cancer treatment. Together, they plan personalized treatment for the patient, resulting in better treatment outcomes and minimizing side effects from treatment.
