The word cancer comes from a Greek term carcinoma, which was then translated into Latin word as Cancer, meaning crab. Before surgical procedure became common, people identified cancer from the appearance of swollen body surface, which has veins stretched on all sides, bearing the resemblance of the animal crab, or crayfish. The earliest recorded evidence of cancer surgery dates back to 1,600 B.C. in Egypt. It was written that there were 8 cases of breast ulcers, treated by cauterization using a tool named fire drill. But eventually, the papyrus writing’ states that there was no treatment for the disease. In a 2007 survey, cancer was found to be the cause of death for over 7.5 million people worldwide.
Based on general classification, cancers could be classified as carcinoma cancers, sarcoma, lymphoma and leukemia, germ cell tumor and blastoma cancers. Some of the most common cancers are generally carcinoma cancers -cancer that grows from epithelial cells. Some of the common carcinoma cancers are breast, colon, and lung cancer. Cancer in the lungs generally divided into two types, primary cancer or a metastatic cancer. Primary cancer means it began in the lungs and is comprised of lung cells, while metastatic cancer means that it began elsewhere in the body and has spread to the lungs. Due to this difference, primary and metastatic cancers are treated differently. A lung cancer could be diagnosed using one of several of medical tests available: CT Scan, PET Scan, Bronchoscopy, Needle Biopsy and Surgical Biopsy.
Lung cancer was rarely found prior to the increased popularity of cigarette smoking. In 1929, a German physician disclosed the relation between lung cancer and smoking habit, followed by a published British Doctors Study in 1950s which shows solid evidence of the relation between lung cancer and smoking habits. But other than smoking habits, radon gas, asbestos, viruses and particulate matter are also scientifically found to be the causes of lung cancer. Some of lung cancer signs are: blood cough, chronic cough, wheezing, chest pain, and fatigue, hoarse voice, swallowing difficulties and breathing problems, among others. Thanks to the advanced medical technology, nowadays patients diagnosed with lung cancer could have better survival rate due to the several treatment options including chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, or a combination of these. Find as much information related to cancer symptoms, signs and treatments to help you identify first signs of lung cancer.
