Monday, June 28, 2010

For an 39 AA male who has serious Sarcoidosis in lungs& a history of smoking- can this turn into lung cancer

For an 39 AA male who has serious Sarcoidosis in lungs& a history of smoking- can this turn into lung cancer?
He has dropped almost 50 pounds in 6 months and has had sleep apnea but this has went away. He is very weak and tired all the time. Problems and pain while sleeping at night. He has been dealing with the lymph nodes and chronic chest pain symptoms. There was a time when he had a severe cough that wouldn't go away. He doesn't like to go to the doctor, so when his doctor said that he needed another chest xray, he didn't go. It's been years since his last chest xray. He smoked for about 15 years, quit for a few years, started again, and now it's been over a year since he last smoked. We believe that he's afraid to hear that he has lung cancer because the Sarcoidosis has spread to his eyes, lungs, and now his bones. His eyes have gotten better, but he looks very sick. At night he breaks out in sweats, and my question is if this sounds like lung cancer or an advancement from Sarcoidosis? Has anyone else known someone's Sarcoidosis to turn into lung cancer?
Cancer - 1 Answers
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1 :
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory, autoimmune disease and is not associated with development of lung cancer, although some of the symptoms may resemble lung cancer in it's advanced stages, especially in stage IV sarcoidosis. It can be a systemic disease causing a lot of pulmonary/respiratory difficulties. Having said that, since this man has a history of smoking, it would not be unthinkable for lung cancer to have developed independent of his sarcoidosis. Certainly, appropriate evaluation by a physician and work up is recommended.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

How high is the risk for lung cancer when smoking 2-3 cigarettes a day

How high is the risk for lung cancer when smoking 2-3 cigarettes a day?
please no comments on smoking in general is bad for you, i just want to know how light smoking influences lung cancer. Ive read some research on light smoking saying that for men especially, only the risk of heart diseases was significantly increased after 6 cigarettes. thank you
Cancer - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
It may come now, it may come later, but it will come.
2 :
it might not have any effect on you if you continue at a 2-3 pace, however you will probably get more of a tolerance for cigaretts and you will start having more than 2 or 3 per day and then you will be at more of a risk
3 :
Depends on genetics, and depends on luck - good or bad. My sister died of lung cancer and didn't smoke. But it's your choice and your gamble. If I were you, I'd quit smoking. There is nothing good about it.
4 :
Are you eating healthy? Are you exercising? Are you taking care of yourself? If you are you should be fine. If you are eating processed foods, not taking care of yourself, in general, and stressing about every single thing, every single day for ten years, you might get it, otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.
5 :
Smoking is one risk factor for lung cancer. There is not way to determine how much a single risk factor or all of them may increase anyoneâ€™s risk for it. People who never smoked get lung cancer. People who smoked 40-50 years do not. We donâ€™t know what causes cancer.
6 :
The risk of getting lung cancer if you don't smoke is less than 1%. If you've smoked a pack a day for 10-20 years, it's about 2%. If you've smoked a pack a day for 50 years, it's about 16%. Remember though, smoking doesn't just increase the risk of lung cancer. It increases the risk of many cancers, plus stroke, plus heart disease, plus other lung diseases. But, to answer your question, if you smoke 2-3 cigarettes a day, the risk of getting lung cancer is very low, but much higher than that of non-smokers.

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

do you think that someone dying of lung cancer caused by smoking deserves a new healty pair of lungs

do you think that someone dying of lung cancer caused by smoking deserves a new healty pair of lungs ?
from a donor i mean . i caught alot of backlash because i didnt mention that the lung cancer was caused by smoking in my other question. so YEA this person was a smoker.
Respiratory Diseases - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
If the shoe was on your foot. what do you think?
2 :
nah he prolly ruin the new pair of lungs then he will need more lungs lol
3 :
depends what kinda person he is
4 :
no because the might just start smoking again
5 :
This sounds like a simple question but in reality it is quite complex for several reasons. First of all there is a national doner list and in order to qualify for a doner organ you have to not only match the doner but you must also fit specific criteria. Doctors and insurance companies do not want to spend thousands of dollars to perform a transplant on a recipient who will be likely to destroy the donated organs. The person must be relatively young because Doctors and Insurance companies will not give an organ to someone who is not likely to survive very long anyway. Ironically a person must be in relative good health in order to qualify so that there is a good chance of surviving the procedure. The person must be psychologically capable of dealing with the idea of recieving a transplanted organ. The person must commit to taking anti-rejection medication for the rest of his/her life as well as being able to cope with a compromised immune system as a resut of this medication. So it is not as simple as I'm sick give me some new lungs. As for my opinion as to whether or not someone deserves a second chance at life? Who am I to decide? However if the organs were those of my loved one and I had the choice I would prefer to give them to a young person who has contracted a disease due to circumstance rather than habit. At the same time if it were one of my loved ones who was the dying smoker I believe that I would want to give them every oportunity to live. Like I said not a simple answer.
6 :
do people who have unprotected sex deserve antibiotics to treat STD's do people who eat junk food and get fat deserve to have blod pressure medication do drug addicts deserve to get medical treatment do people who sunbake in their teens deserve surgery in their 40's for melanoma do people who speed and crash deserve intensive care treatment do we treat babies of mothers who have abused drugs druing pregnancy - do the mothers deserve to have their babies treated? Do people who chose to live in tornedo or flood areas deserve to have aid if those problems occur do the children of the smoker deserve to watch their parent die because someone else decided the patient did not deserve the lung transplant...???? the world is so full of ethical questions.... it seems so black and white but it is not as part of a race that consider ourselves humane we should treat and care for everyone - It is human nature to be flawed - it is part of who we are...everyone has done something that is not good or right - to not treat someone would be a crime against the very nature of why we consider ourselves a humane race... Who am I to decide if someone else DESERVES help or care....???
7 :
No, not that I'm saying that the person doesn't have a right to live.. but they chose to smoke knowing what could happen. They took the risk, why should they get the set of lungs over someone who needs them who is a nonsmoker with a different disease?
8 :
It's not like going into a store asking which pair of lungs can I buy? Your doctor has to recommend it, then you're thoroughly evaluated by the lung transplant team. How long has he quit smoking? Is he still smoking? If he is, he won't be accepted. If he's quit, I think the general rule is for one year. Age also plays a factor in all this. But do have this person, talk with his/her doctor.

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