Monday, April 28, 2008

How long do lung cancer patients survive untreated

How long do lung cancer patients survive untreated?
I do not have lung cancer, but I'm somewhat curious b/c someone I know may and are waiting for the confirmation.
Cancer - 5 Answers
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1 :
it all depends on how bad it is now, and what type.
2 :
Three to six months.
3 :
I was told 2-4 months without treatment with my lung cancer dx.
4 :
What the doctor's do is take the type of cancer and severity of it, and take an average survival rate. Now with my mom, she had the small cell lung cancer. They told her 3-6 months untreated. It was stage 4. So it will depend on the stage of the cancer too. Treated they said up to 18 months. But because they really don't know, you can't really go by the prediction. My mom was treated, and she passed away within 4 months.
5 :
This is one of those impossible to answer questions. To have a statistically relevant answer you need to take a large, random group of diagnosed lung cancer patients, at various stages, and refuse all treatment, then monitor how long it takes them to die. I doubt that any ethical society would allow this to occur. Once someone is diagnosed, they are normally told at what stage their disease is at, what treatments are available and what their survival chances are based on this information.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

What organizations can help a person suffering fron lung cancer

What organizations can help a person suffering fron lung cancer?
The patient has no employment income and is the head of the family. He is suffering from malignant lung cancer (stage 4). Please provide any information on organizations or individuals who are willing to help or donate medicines for cancer patients. Thank you for your help and advise.
Cancer - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I would contact hospice that is free. If there in stage 4 now then your running out of time here. I would also contact all the churches in your town. They never turn anyone away. They will help with food, shelter. United ways helps people. You did not state what kind of help you in need of. So I offer you my prayers, I know that may not seem like a lot, but I am honored to pray for you and the family. God bless you all.
2 :
I agree call Hospice they can lead ya in the right direction.u may also wanna sign for ssi(which is disability) if he gets it he should get medical card and section 8 housing assistance,the medical card guidlines vary in each state but its woth checkin into.I will keep him and ur family in my prayers,Hospice provides emotional support as well please give them a call im sure they can help u as they did my mother who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and 6 moths or less.

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Sunday, April 20, 2008

What should I do about having lung cancer and being Pregnant

What should I do about having lung cancer and being Pregnant?
I have stage three non-small lung cancer and Im about 6weeks pregnant. This will be my third child. I dont know what to do. What should I do?
Pregnancy - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Talk to your cancer specialist and a specialist in high risk pregnancies (NOT a regular OB) to learn about what treatments CAN be done while pregnant and see what you can do while still buying time to get the baby through the pregnancy. There ARE some cancer treatments that can be done during pregnancy to attempt to slow progression while buying baby time to grow, and then when baby is out they can start the heavier stuff. Cancer treatment rarely begins instantly anyway, usually test test tests and consultations that can take up to a month at least, and then the treatment.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

What questions should i ask a lung cancer specialist for an interview

What questions should i ask a lung cancer specialist for an interview?
I am writing a thesis about lung cancer and I am supposed to interview 2 oncologists. I am not really interested in my assigned topic and i'm quite contented with the information available in the net. What questions should i include in the interview?
Cancer - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
you can ask several things: 1. Do patients have unreal expectations? 2. Are they compliant? 3. Has the internet changed the knowledge level of your patients? 4. Has the internet helped or hurt thier level of knowledge/understanding/perceptions? 5. What is their comfort level about discussing death with the patients?
2 :
Did you know that lung cancer is the most fatal cancer? The number of people that die of lung cancer is more than the people that die of both breast and prostate cancer COMBINED. In fact more people die of lung cancer than the next 3 most lethal cancers combined. It's a common, lethal cancer. People find it boring b/c it's associate with smoking and (IMO) there's a stigma of "well, what did you expect" with lung CA and smokers. AIDS carries a similar stigma. Lung cancer survival hasn't changed dramatically in 20+ years. Current hot topics in Lung Cancer is the use of screening for high risk patients. Several prior studies of screening haven't shown an improvement in survival versus more conservative approaches, but that may be changing with a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, which was out last fall. In that trial lung cancers were found earlier (80% were early stage) and the survival was improved in the cancer patients as compared with historical controls. Also, there's some reason for optimism with advanced lung cancers. A new medication directed against tumor blood vessels when combined with chemotherapy showed an improvement in survival in patients with metastatic lung cancer compared with chemotherapy alone. The survival was only 2 months longer, but it was an exciting finding in a group of patients that respond poorly to therapy. Many groups are now using this medication in patient with earlier stage lung cancers. Just a couple things to get you started....
3 :
1) If I am hospitalized, how long do you think i will be there? 2) Are any preparations necessary beforehand, like blood tests? 3) What is the latest research on my type of Cancer? 4) Are there any alternative treatment methods I could consider?
4 :
1. What is the newest treatment for lung cancers? 2. What you think about the lawsuits against Phillip Morris? 3, What can you do to prevent lung cancer 4. Approximately how many lung ca pts are you treating now? 5. Has the cure rate of lung cancer gone up in the last 20 yrs 6. What is the cure rate for lung cancer currently? 7. Do you believe cigarette smoking is related to lung cancer? 8. What made you decide to become an expert in lung cancer 9. Do you believe in God and do you believe faith has any impact on the cure rate of cancers? 10. What is the most important advice you can give someone who is caring for a lung cancer pt. 11. What are the signs and symptoms of lung cancer? 12. Do you reccomend hospice for your terminal pts and when do you know it is the time to offer it as an option. 13. Have you ever seen a lung cancer pt cured? 14. How much does it cost to recieve a round of chemotherapy?
5 :
lung cancer is most common among long term smokers.but a new study came out that 20% of all lung cancer cases,the person never smoked.so you can ask the question what role does second hand smoke play in lung cancer.the man that played superman,his wife just died from lung cancer and she never smoked

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

How does air pollution cause lung cancer

How does air pollution cause lung cancer?
Okay so I know that smoking destroys your cilia on your epithelial tissue. So knowing that can you give me a detailed explanation of how air pollution causes lung cancer. For example: Air pollution causes lung cancer because the particles are trapped iin the lung and become infected with cancer. Now I know that isnt the answer. Thanks soooo much for your help.
Cancer - -4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
A poor environment is a RISK factor but to say it CAUSES lung cancer is over simplistic. From what I know, carcinogenic substances increase the risk of cell mutations - possibly leading to abnormal tissue growth and then cancer.
2 :
No one knows what causes cancer â€“ any cancer. Most cancers have several risk factors and many of those tend to be conditions that cause chronic irritation and/or inflammation of tissues, such as smoking, air pollution, asbestos, lung scars, COPD, etc. does to the lungs and are all risk factors.

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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

What percentage of smokers get lung cancer

What percentage of smokers get lung cancer?
We always hear 90% of lung cancer is caused by smoking, but not how many smokers get lung cancer.
Cancer - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
About 100 percent
2 :
That's something I would like to know. If 90% of lung cancer was caused by smoking then it would stand to reason than the majority of smokers would get lung cancer and that simply is untrue. Most smokers do not get lung cancer.
3 :
Smokers do get lung cancer on one condition... If they suck the cigarrete's smoke inside... If they throw the smokewithout inhaling inside their lungs, they can be safe from lung cancer....
4 :
My Aunt never smoked nor was she ever around smokers & died of lung cancer, also Dana Reeves, the wife of Christopher Reeves, best known for his role in superman also never smoked & she died from lung cancer at the young age of I believe 38? Not to mention many other millions of non smokers who have died from this horrible disease, but the percentage of people who do smoke & die from cancer still outweigh the nonsmokers who die from lung cancer. Also percentage wise, I think its more along the lines of 70% not 90%.
5 :
99.987694% exact
6 :
I don't know the percentage of smokers to lung cancer, but 1 out of 2 smokers will die from a smoking related illness.
7 :
We can't be sure how many smokers don't get cancer or other smoking related disease as they are usualy only identified as smokers once ill. If you look up how many people get lung cancer, you will find it causes more deaths than any other cancer. In 2004, in the USA, 108,355 men and 87,897 women were diagnosed with lung cancer, 89,575 men and 68,431 women died from lung cancer. As a smoker, you have a 10% higher risk of dying from lung cancer as a non smoker. If no-one smoked, 176,600 people would not have got lung cancer that year. 142,200 people would not have died. If you care about your health and smoke, you are a fool! Get help to quit smoking NOW!
8 :
My best guess would be 1 in 10 smokers get lung cancer, at most. However, that does not address heart disease, emphysema or other smoke related illnesses.
9 :
Some of the answers here are amazingly stupid. Approximately 8% of white male smokers in the United States will get lung cancer. White male non-smokers have a 1% chance of getting lung cancer.

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Friday, April 4, 2008

How long does it take to get lung cancer

How long does it take to get lung cancer?
K so before I was born my mom smoked for about 40 years. Would that make my lungs weaker and make me more of a risk to get lung cancer?
Cancer - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The smoke that went into her lungs would not affect your lungs while you were still developing within her. Cigarettes do deprive the blood of oxygen and there are innumerable things that can result of that in a growing fetus. Second-hand smoke, though, (after you were born) can contribute to an increase of a chance in lung cancer, asthma, allergic reaction, etc. Also, secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen). And you may not believe it, but secondhand smoke causes almost 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year. I doubt that would make your lungs weaker, but as for being at an increased risk for cancer I would say definitely more than a child who was never around those who smoked.
2 :
No. How could her smoking affect your lungs before you existed?
3 :
No but your mother must have been about 55 when you were born if she smoked for 40 year before you were born? It is not prov en that smoking causes lung cancer, alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver which kills, sunshine can cause skin cancer, eating red meat or fried foods can cause hardening of the arteries leading to a heart attack, lack of exercise can cause high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. My grandfather died of lung cancer and never smoked, my father died of stomach cancer and smoked for 65 years, I am a heavy smoker and have smoked for 30odd years and after blood tests i am fit and healthy although I have an under active thyroid glad, not caused by anything. We are all born with cancer cells in our body and occasionally they get activated and cause cancer, it can happen to anyone. Does your family drive a car? the exhaust fumes are worse for us than smoking.
4 :
No. And there's no way to tell, since that depends on how much you smoke, and chance. But typically people start getting lung cancer from smoking after the age of 50. Most smokers don't get it at all.
5 :
You aren't at greater risk as long as you don't smoke. And, take figures of how many people die from smoking or second hand smoke for what they are - unsubstantiated rhetoric usually stridently voiced by anti-smokers. Smoking is NOT healthy and DOES contribute to worsening many diseases and I wish I had never seen a cigarette.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

How long does it take to get lung cancer from smoking cigarettes

How long does it take to get lung cancer from smoking cigarettes?
I'm 16 and have been smoking cigarettes for over a year. I have smoked half a pack at the most in one day. My dad died of cancer but it wasnt from heredity. I'm paranoid im going to get lung cancer.HELP
Cancer - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
17 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 12 hours, 11 minutes, 42 seconds
2 :
Depends on your body and several different other factors but smoking will certainly contribute to your downfall. Why would a 16 year old even want to smoke especially after watching her dad die of cancer? My dad died from lung cancer, yes, he was a smoker. He died 10 days before his 54th birthday. He missed all of his grandchildren, he missed college graduations, Christmas, Thanksgiving and all those fun family times. You are young and you have a full and wonderful life ahead of you. Start making some smart choices, eat healthy, do fun and healthy things, learn something new and find the adventure in life every day. If you are so paranoid about lung cancer, you might also consider that smoking contributes to heart disease as well. But yes, there is a way to prevent all that and that would be QUIT now. Set yourself up for success.
3 :
Quit. Your breath stinks like an ashtray, your teeth are turning yellow, cigarettes are expensive, you are destroying your lungs getting shortness of breath and developing cancer, and you do not look cool smoking.
4 :
if your father passed away due to any type of cancer, you are at a natural greater risk of developing cancer. smoking is just adding to the probability that you will get cancer. lung cancer, throat cancer, you name it.
5 :
no set time, may be you wont get but if i were you i would quite now that short of time wont give it to you
6 :
it varies, some people can smoke multiple packs a day for decades and be cancer free, some could be dead in less that a decade, genetics and hereditary play a major role, the best advice i can give you is to quit now while your still young and healthy, i quit some time ago and i found that always having gum with you helps a lot, if you have money you could invest in those nicotine ween off products, does your mom know you smoke, if she does you should tell her you're scared of getting cancer, i'm sure she'll be more that happy to help you Quitting is hard for many people, but if your this worried than you have the determination to do it
7 :
My grandparents are 87 and 83 and have been smoking for over 60 years, with no signs of quitting. They are probably healthier than most non smokers in their 50's. No cancer for them.
8 :
So stop smoking. You might get it and might not, but why push your luck? Read out more about cancer here: http://the-cancer-disease.com/
9 :
hi found a solution with your question in blog at http://drugtreatmentforcancer.blogspot.com/

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