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Various data from different registries suggest that there are anywhere between 75 to 80,000 New lung Cancer cases being diagnosed every year in the country.
Smokers often have a persistent chronic cough. Therefore cough, indicating and underlying lung cancer is difficult to identify. In these cases the onset of cancer will result in subtle symptoms
Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer in India. Various data from different registries suggest that there are anywhere between 75 to 80,000 new lung cancer cases being diagnosed every year in the country.
One of the most common causes of lung cancer include cigarette smoking. Other causes include passive smoking, which basically means exposure to tobacco smoke exhaled by someone else and air pollution is emerging as another risk factor. Dr Devavrat Arya, Senior Director, Cancer Care / Oncology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket shares all you need to know:
What are the symptoms of lung cancer ?
* Persistent Cough: A cough that intensifies with time and does not go away.
* Chest Pain: Pain that may aggravate with heavy breathing or coughing.
* Shortness of Breath: Difficulty breathing during typical activities.
* Coughing Up Blood: Haemoptysis (coughing up blood) can be a dangerous sign.
However, when a person is a chronic smoker, many of these signs may be masked. Smokers often have a persistent chronic cough. Therefore cough, indicating and underlying lung cancer is difficult to identify. In these cases the onset of cancer will result in subtle symptoms.
These may include change in the character of the cough, slight change in voice, a little bit of breathlessness, rare spot of blood in sputum or vague symptoms like weight loss or loss of appetite. People at high risk of lung cancer, specially those who have been regular smokers either currently or in the past, should not ignore these signs and should immediately consult a doctor to rule out the possibility of a serious underlying disorder, one of which can be lung cancer.
In fact, there is now data to suggest that those people who have been heavy smokers either currently or in the past 15 years and are more than 50 years of age should undertake an annual low-dose CT scan, even when there are no symptoms. These CT scans can pick up cancer schedules at a very early stage, thereby maximising the chances of cure.
