Lung Cancer

Lung cancer starts when abnormal cells grow out of control in the lung. They can invade nearby tissues and form tumors. Lung cancer can start anywhere in the lungs and affect any part of the respirotory system. The cancer cells can spread, or metastasize, to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body.

What causes lung cancer
Most lung cancer is caused by smoking. Secondhand smoke also can cause lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths.
Being exposed to arsenic, asbestos, radioactive dust, or radon can increase your chances of getting lung cancer. People who are exposed to radiation at work or elsewhere have a higher chance of getting lung cancer.


What are the symptoms?

Early lung cancer doesn't usually cause any symptoms. This is why it's not usually found early.
In its advanced stage, cancer may affect how your lungs work. The first signs of lung cancer may include:
=) Coughing.
=) Wheezing.
=) Feeling short of breath.
=) Having blood in any mucus that you cough up.


If you have these symptoms and are worried about lung cancer, call your doctor.
Lung cancer may spread to the chest and then to other parts of the body. For example, if it spreads to the spine or bones, it may cause pain in the back or other bones or weakness in the arms or legs. If it spreads to the brain, it may cause seizures, headaches, or vision changes.


How is lung cancer diagnosed?

Your doctor will check your symptoms and ask questions about whether you smoke or have been exposed to another person's smoke or to any cancer-causing substances. He or she will also ask about your medical history, including any history of cancer in your family. This information will help your doctor decide how likely it is that you have lung cancer and whether you need tests to be sure.
Lung cancer is usually first found on a chest X-ray or a CT scan. More tests are done to find out what kind of cancer cells you have and whether they have spread beyond your lung. These tests help determine what stage the cancer is in. The stage is a rating to measure how big the cancer is and how far it has spread.


How is it treated?

Treatment for lung cancer includes surgery, anti-cancer medicines (chemotherapy), radiation, or a mix of all three. It depends on what type of cancer you have and how much it has spread.
Few lung cancers are found in the early stages when treatment is most effective.
It can be very scary to learn that you may have lung cancer. Talking with your doctor or joining a support group may help you deal with your feelings. It can help if you have lots of support from family and friends. Staying as active as possible will also help.
Less than half of people who get lung cancer live 1 more year after the cancer is found. And only about 15 out of every 100 people with lung cancer live for 5 or more years.It’s important to remember that everyone’s case is different and that these numbers may not show what will happen in your case.


Can you prevent lung cancer?

Lung cancer is one of the easiest cancers to prevent, because most lung cancer is caused by smoking. So it is important to stop smoking—or to stop being around someone else’s smoke.
Even if you have smoked a long time, quitting can lower your chances of getting cancer. If you already have lung cancer, quitting makes your treatment work better and can help you live longer.

Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine filiform needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain or for therapeutic purposes. The word acupuncture comes from the Latin acus, "needle", and pungere, "to prick". In Standard Mandarin, 針砭 (zhēn biān) (a related word, 針灸 (zhēn jiǔ), refers to acupuncture together with moxibustion).

According to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are situated on meridians along which qi, the vital energy, flows. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians. Modern acupuncture texts present them as ideas that are useful in clinical practice. According to the NIH consensus statement on acupuncture, these traditional Chinese medical concepts "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture."

Acupuncture originated in China and is most commonly associated with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).Different types of acupuncture (Classical Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Korean acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.

There is no scientific or medical evidence that acupuncture has any efficacy beyond a placebo effect.The WHO, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association (AMA) and various government reports have studied and commented on the efficacy of acupuncture. There is general agreement that acupuncture is safe when administered by well-trained practitioners using sterile needles, and that further research is appropriate.