Today the Florida Lung Doctors present their blog readers with powerful information about lung cancer. Knowledge leads to early detection, a mighty weapon in the war against lung cancer.
Knowing the causes, symptoms and treatments can weaponize your strength of mind and spirit, should you or your loved one ever need to battle with the disease.
Basically there are two main types of lung cancer: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC.)
Today we are only concerned with common Non-Small Cell Cancers, which make up 85% to 90% of diagnosed lung cancers. To understand the causes of Small Cell Lung Cancer, we have created a page for you to click on this site. The primary treatment option for NSCLC is quite often surgery. A regime of chemotherapy and radiation might be required.
Lung cancer has 5 stages and your doctor will base treatment on how far your cancer has advanced. For more about the symptoms and stages of Non-Small Cell Cancer, click on our special page here. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with one of the below types of cancer, the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists recommend you know what questions to ask your doctor. We suggest you click and follow the guidelines in one of our helpful, plain-talk, resources.
The three basic subtypes of NSCLC were given different names because the cells vary greatly in size, shape and chemistry.
1. Squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinoma: These are flat cells in the lining of the airways in the lungs. Sadly, research links them to patients who smoke. They usually reside in the middle of the lung, lurking near a bronchus.
2. Adenocarcinoma: About 40% of lung cancers are adenocarcinomas. This type of lung cancer often happens to smokers, but it is also the most common lung cancer found in the lungs of non-smokers. Doctors discover the slow-growing Adenocarcinoma in the outer region of the lung. Luckily for some patients, it is quite likely to be caught before it has spread out of the lung.
3. Large cell (undifferentiated) Carcinoma: Found in any part of the lung, this type grows and spreads quickly. Unfortunately, treatment is often more difficult than with other types. Only 10%-15% of lung cancers fit in this category.
As noted above, you should talk to your doctor if you are diagnosed with any of these conditions. In our resources pages, you will find that The Florida Lung Doctors have prepared a detailed listing of treatments just to familiarize you with options for Non Small-Cell Lung Cancer patients.
A READING BONUS: We take this opportunity to invite health care professionals to read an in depth article called “Bronchiectasis,” written by Dr. Fred C. Umeh, MD, MRCP (UK), FCCP. He is the medical Co-Director here in Orlando at the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists, and you can click directly to his article.