Le lung cancer Usually begins to form in your mid-XNUMXs or XNUMXs. the tabagisme is responsible for 80% to 90% of lung cancer cases.

This cancer is particularly threatening because it can more easily spread in the rest of the body than other types of cancer. Indeed, all the blood passes through the lungs to be oxygenated, and the lungs are in close contact with several blood and lymphatic vessels. Lung cancer is all the more alarming because it is often discovered late. It is also the main cause of death by cancer in Canada, in both men and women.

The Canadian Cancer Society predicts that there will be 24 new cases of lung cancer in 100 in the country: 2010 men and 12 women⁴³.

However, this cancer can be prevented very effectively by quitting smoking or by smoking less.

Causes

• Smoking.
• Exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Exposure to carcinogenic particles present in theair, such as those from asbestos, arsenic, radon or air pollutants (carbon monoxide, ozone, etc.).

Some facts about smoking and second-hand smoke

• It was in the mid-1960s that the causality link between smoking and lung cancer has been established with certainty.
• In Canada, tobacco control efforts have paid off: in 1965, half of Canadians aged 15 and over smoked, compared to 25% in 1999, and 18% in 2008^1,42.
• Through lois provinces, Canadians are much less exposed to second-hand smoke in their workplaces and in public places.
• Smoking is twice as common in populations indigenous than in the general Canadian population.
• Thanks to the reduction in tobacco consumption, lung cancer has been on the decline since the mid-1980s in men. However, among women, this cancer has steadily increased since 1980 and is only beginning to stabilize.

Types

There are 2 types of lung cancer. They grow and spread differently in the body.

• Small cell lung cancer. It is the most dangerous form of lung cancer. About 20% of cases lung cancer presents in this form. At the time of diagnosis, there is a high risk that the cancer has already spread elsewhere in the body. It grows quickly and is often not treatable with surgery. Instead, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used.
• Non-small cell lung cancer. This form of lung cancer, which accounts for approximately 80% of cases, is more easily detected and treated than small cell cancer. It grows more slowly. This category includes 3 sub-groups:adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and large undifferentiated cell carcinoma. There are other forms, much rarer.

Prognosis

Le lung cancer is among the deadliest, along with pancreatic cancer. the survival rate of people with this cancer, 5 years after diagnosis, is 17% in women and 14% in men. Even if the person responds well to treatment at first, relapses are common in the years or months that follow.

Possible complications

Lung cancer often obstructs the bronchi, which creates a breeding ground for respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

As mentioned earlier, cancer can spread to other parts of the body by metastasizing. Usually, the metastases will lodge in other parts of the lungs, and in the bones, brain or liver. They are more common in small cell lung cancer.