Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate. Why are there no obvious symptoms in the early stage? Reminder: 5 mistakes to avoid
Uncle Li is 62 years old. Something went wrong six months ago. He always forgets things and sometimes loses his temper inexplicably. The family thinks whether Uncle Li has Alzheimer’s disease, so they take him to the hospital for diagnosis. It turns out that he is not old. Dementia is an abnormal behavior caused by the metastasis of lung cancer to the brain. The family is shocked. The old man has no pain or symptoms of the respiratory tract. How can he have advanced lung cancer?
According to data from the World Health Organization, lung cancer ranks first in the number of cancer deaths in the world, and China accounts for 20% of all cancer deaths, that is, 1 in every 5 cancer deaths. Lung cancer is a serious problem.
Why are many lung cancers diagnosed at an advanced stage? This is because lung cancer has no symptoms in the early stage. Lung cancer patients with symptoms are more likely to be caused by other physical problems, and some people may even be misdiagnosed as common colds or allergies.
So, is lung cancer really impossible to detect early? What are the signs to watch out for?
- Why there are no symptoms in the early stage of lung cancer ==============================================================
Lung cancer has no symptoms in the early stages because there are few nerve endings in the lungs.
The reason why people feel pain and other uncomfortable symptoms is because of the physical response triggered by nerves. Generally, if the tumor swells or invades the nerve, it will cause pain, but if the lung tumor cannot touch the nerve, it can cause no pain or discomfort. Therefore, no matter at home or abroad, many early diagnoses of lung cancer are accidentally discovered during the inspection of other problems.
However, if you look closely, there are certain signs of lung cancer that can be detected early. However, it varies from person to person. If a single symptom occurs occasionally, there is no need to worry, but if multiple symptoms occur, or a single symptom persists for a long time, you should consult a doctor.
- Lung cancer symptoms that may appear in the early stage: ===========================================================
Coughing and hoarseness continued for more than three weeks , or gradually worsened, and the way of coughing for a long time may have changed. Uncle Li had a hoarse voice for a long time at first, but he thought he didn’t care about getting angry;
Coughing up blood (even in small amounts), or rust-colored phlegm;
Persistent chest or shoulder pain when coughing, laughing, or breathing deeply ;
Unexplained breathing difficulties, wheezing , according to the family’s recollection, this situation has also occurred in Uncle Li;
Frequent lung diseases, chronic lung diseases , such as pneumonia, emphysema, or bronchitis;
People are thin and feel fatigued and powerless , which cannot be relieved by simple rest.
- When lung cancer metastasizes to other parts of the body, it may cause the following symptoms: =================================================================================================
Bone pain or fracture , mostly in the back or crotch;
Loss of appetite, rapid weight loss ;
Lung cancer metastasizes to the brain, causing changes in the nervous system. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, forgetfulness, abnormal mood, epilepsy, numbness of hands and feet, and inability to master balance;
Lung cancer metastasizes to the liver, causing jaundice;
Metastasis to the lymphatic system, swollen lymph nodes, most of which will appear in the neck or above the collarbone .
Also, because of where the lung tumor grows, there may be some specific symptoms that may not manifest in the lungs:
If lung cancer occurs higher in the lungs, it can affect the nerves connecting the eyes and part of the face, causing pupils to narrow but respond normally to light, retraction of the eye on one side, ptosis, and little or no sweating on the affected side, or Severe shoulder pain and other manifestations ; the lung tumor is near the superior vena cava, squeezing the blood vessels, there may be swelling of the face, neck, arms, blood stasis in the chest, and even headache, dizziness, and changes in consciousness.
- 5 misunderstandings about lung cancer ========================================
In addition to the unclear understanding of early-stage lung cancer symptoms, there may be some related misunderstandings. Let me talk to you here.
1. Only smoking can cause lung cancer?
In fact, no matter whether people have the habit of smoking or not, they must do a good job in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer, and not smoking can be said to be the key to maintaining lung health.
Long-term smoking is indeed one of the main causes of lung cancer, but it is not the only cause. In addition to smoking and second-hand smoke, exposure to air pollution, long-term exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, and arsenic, a history of lung-related disease or family history of lung cancer, and prolonged inhalation of oil fumes may increase the risk of lung cancer. risks of.
2. Young people will not get lung cancer?
Lung cancer has a tendency to become younger. Statistics from a medical institution show that the incidence of lung cancer is most common among patients aged 50-70, but young people under the age of 40 also account for about 10%. around the age of 20.
If you want to avoid the occurrence of lung cancer, quitting smoking before the age of 30 has obvious effect, which can reduce the risk of lung cancer by about 90% ; indoor and outdoor air pollution should also be avoided at ordinary times.
In addition, the physical examination time for lung cancer screening should be advanced, starting at the age of 40 and once every 2-3 years. If there is a lung cancer patient in the family, the screening time can be advanced to the age of 35.
3. Most men suffer from lung cancer. If they don’t smoke or cook, they won’t get it?
In the past 20 years in China, the number of male patients has increased by about 2-3 times, but the number of female patients has increased even more. Statistics show that it has more than 4 times. Among these men with lung cancer, 20% have no smoking habit, and 90% of women have Do not smoke.
However, even if you do not smoke or cook, it does not mean that you will not develop lung cancer. For example, long-term exposure to second-hand smoke or air pollution, or in an environment polluted by organic compounds, may increase the risk of lung cancer.
According to related studies, it was found that among all lung cancer patients, 74% of women who never smoked and under the age of 60 and all women without lung cancer epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation had a higher degree of APOBEC mutation characteristics, indicating that APOBEC Mutational signatures may be drivers of early-stage lung cancer in women.
In addition, the study also found that exposure to carcinogens may also cause genetic mutations, with a higher degree of mutation in older women over 70 years old. Therefore, the public should reduce the exposure rate of carcinogens in life to effectively prevent lung cancer.
4. Is chest X-ray enough for lung cancer screening?
Generally speaking, in the past, lung cancer screening was mainly done through chest X-rays. Through the inspection, you can see whether there are obvious abnormalities in the lungs, such as inflammation, tuberculosis, tumors, emphysema or pneumothorax and other lung diseases.
However, because lung cancer is difficult to detect in the early stage and the tumor is small, chest X-rays cannot detect tiny lesions less than 1 cm. It may also be caused by the growth of the lesions behind the heart, the diaphragm, or overlapping with the shadow of the ribs. blind spot.
It is recommended that high-risk groups such as long-term smokers, family history of lung cancer, and lung diseases can regularly seek medical attention and receive low-dose CT examinations. Lung nodules as small as 0.3 cm can be detected , and according to the size of the nodules and the shape of the examination images, Assess benign and malignant probabilities.
Since low-dose CT examination is mentioned, there are four main groups of people who need low-dose CT examination :
① Generally speaking, middle-aged and elderly people have a higher chance of getting sick, so middle-aged and elderly people between the ages of 50 and 80, and have a long smoking history, have not quit smoking for more than 15 years, and those who smoke more than 30 packs per year should preferably regularly examine.
② People with a family history of lung cancer should also regularly check low-dose CT.
③ People with a history of chronic lung diseases, such as tuberculosis, chronic pulmonary obstructive pulmonary disease, long-term treatment or maintenance.
④ Workers exposed to radon gas environment or specific workplace environments, such as metal industry, metallurgical mining, petrochemical industry, asbestos industry, or long-term exposure to dust, oil fume, cotton wool, heavy metals, chemical substances, radioactive substances, etc. For people with special jobs, try to consult a doctor first to see if it is necessary to arrange regular screening.
5. Will the lung cancer be completely cured after surgery and will not recur?
This problem is obviously impossible. Most cancers have the possibility of recurrence, but the probability is different.
At present, clinicians will consider factors such as the type of cancer cells in patients with lung cancer, disease stage, and the actual physical condition of the patient, and then use different treatment methods. In addition to surgical resection, it also includes radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy Treatment or combination of multiple therapies that are indispensable adjuncts to surgical treatment.
Most people think that after lobectomy or pneumonectomy, after the tumor is removed from the body of a patient with lung cancer, it is completely cured and will not recur. In fact, for most lung cancer patients, the purpose of surgical resection is to treat the current problems and reduce the possibility of recurrence. Lung cancer is still likely to recur.
For patients with early-stage lung cancer, the tumor can be removed by surgery. If it is completely cleaned up, it is possible to cure it. Once it is not completely removed, there is a certain chance of recurrence. In the middle-stage lung cancer, even if surgery can be performed, there is a certain degree of metastasis. Possibly, there is a higher chance of recurrence, not to mention that some lung cancers may have already metastasized when they were discovered, and they missed the opportunity to watch.
For example, for small cell lung cancer, about 60-70% of patients have already metastasized to other organs when they are diagnosed by a doctor, and they cannot be surgically removed from the body. Because it is easy to recur, there are very few patients who can live for more than 5 years. less than 5%.
Therefore, for high-risk groups of lung cancer, regular lung cancer screening is very important. It can detect lesions early and perform surgical resection to avoid deterioration and metastasis. A low-dose CT is performed every 3 years to help prevent tumors from coming to the door.