Signs and Symptoms: An individual experiencing lung cancer, will experience shortness of breath, chronic coughing up blood, wheezing similar to asthma or bronchitis, pain in the chest, severe tiredness, losing weight, hoarse throat, or swallowing impediments.

Causes: The main causes of lung cancer are carcinogens, radiation, and viruses.

Smoking – Cigarettes contain at least fifty carcinogens,released whenever an individual inhales. Obviously not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer. However the risk becomes much higher. The scariest discovery is that people can acquire lung cancer from overexposure to cigarettes. Currently, over 10% of people with lung cancer haven’t even smoked a cigarette.

Radon Gas – The US Environmental Protection Agency, estimates that one in 15 homes have radon levels above the recommended levels. This invisible gas cannot be smelled and is created through the breakdown of radioactive radium or uranium.

Asbestos – This is a carcinogen that can cause many types of cancers. Only 3% of deaths from lung cancer are caused by asbestos, yet it is a very dangerous material.

Treatments: Patients having lung cancer have many treatment options. If the cancer is found earlier, surgery can be tried to remove the tumor. However, if the cancer has metastasized, the patient can get chemotherapy. With these two types of treatment, scientists and doctors have developed adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, interventional radiology, and targeted therapy.

2009 Uniting Against Lung Cancer Video