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Doc Alan
23rd March 2012, 11:58
Lung cancer is the commonest form of cancer-related death in the world, including UK and Philippines. Scotland has one of the highest rates (16% of cases in UK, higher than its proportion of the population, 8% ).A quarter of Scots admit to smoking, compared to a fifth in UK as a whole. Less than one in ten patients with lung cancer are still alive five years after diagnosis, and the outlook has remained the same for years.
Most cases are due to active smoking, the rest passive smoking, occupational ( asbestos ), or other air pollution. Lung is also a common site for cancers to spread from elsewhere in the body – something doctors need to remember. Less than a fifth of smokers who consume 20 or more cigarettes a day will develop lung cancer, so there are “ host “ / genetic factors involved. Identify the mutations involved and drugs can be tailored to deal with the cancerous cells – that is how cancers will be treated in the future.
Signs usually include:
• cough that persists for two or three weeks, or a worsening / changing of a long standing cough
• repeated chest infections
• coughing up blood
• persistent breathlessness, tiredness or lack of energy,
• weight loss
• persistent chest or shoulder pain.
If you have any of these , see your GP. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve got lung cancer, but it’s best to get it checked out. The earlier the condition is diagnosed, the better the chance of treatment being successful.
There is no screening progamme for lung cancer. If someone has symptoms they may be referred for an X-ray or a CT scan, although they are often not available because they are so expensive, especially in the Philippines. . Most are not diagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Early identification would improve chances of survival - patients can be treated when their general health is better and when less aggressive treatment may be required than if the cancer had spread.





Scotland has an especially costly problem with lung cancer ( in every way ), so ten thousand smokers there are to take part in a trial screening programme, beginning before the end of the year - first results expected in 2014.
It will involve those who have smoked at least 20 a day for more than 20 year.
Half of them will get a blood test, and the other half will not. The test, “ EarlyCDT-Lung “, has been available in USA for two years - already results show a better outlook through earlier detection. The half who have the blood test and are positive will be followed up with CT scans to confirm if lung cancer is present. The other half will be given chest X-rays. NHS Scotland thinks the screening test will not only be cheaper and more accurate than using CT scans, but early detection will also save a lot of money and improve death rates by up to 20 per cent.
Invented and developed at Nottingham University, the Early CDT ( Cancer Detection Test ) could improve the way cancers such as lung, breast, colon and prostate are detected and treated.


It tests for “ auto-antibodies “ , the immune system’s response to cancer proteins, before there are other signs.

A company, Oncimmune Ltd, was set up through the university to develop and market the test.

They hope to have tests for breast cancer ready by next year, followed by colon, prostate cancers and other solid tumours. They will not be available on the NHS - patients wanting it will for the moment have to pay privately.
So advice is the same as always – cut down or give up smoking before it’s too late – benefits do become noticeable almost immediately as any ex-smoker will confirm !

raynaputi
23rd March 2012, 12:21
Thanks for the update Doc! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

grahamw48
23rd March 2012, 17:35
Thanks doc.

Most interesting.

I really WILL try to take note and quit for good.

Down to 5 or 6 a day now, and have been for at least 12 months, but of course they're the ones that are the hardest to let go of. :rolleyes:

imagine
23rd March 2012, 19:16
good info doc, :xxgrinning--00xx3:

cancer spreads through out your body adomin chest to your lungs and your lymph nodes
i know not everyone goes through cheemo the same , some seem to go through it reasonably well, others suffer badly, not from the cancer but the treatment, its deadly poision and kills your good cells along with the bad , and your immune system is lost, your weak, your dying, just to get out of bed to go to the loo is a hell of a feat to have the energy to get there and back, when you manage to get back to bed you colapse on it, i just cant explain, how bad it is, this goes on for months, not days or weeks, you want to give up and take the easy way out and die because your too exhausted to fight it,
believe me if everyone realy knew what its like, you would stop smoking,
im not saying that smoking caused the cancer i had, theres no evidence to say that, but smoking certainly weakens the natural body defences that keep you well

Steve.r
23rd March 2012, 23:04
good info doc, :xxgrinning--00xx3:

cancer spreads through out your body adomin chest to your lungs and your lymph nodes
i know not everyone goes through cheemo the same , some seem to go through it reasonably well, others suffer badly, not from the cancer but the treatment, its deadly poision and kills your good cells along with the bad , and your immune system is lost, your weak, your dying, just to get out of bed to go to the loo is a hell of a feat to have the energy to get there and back, when you manage to get back to bed you colapse on it, i just cant explain, how bad it is, this goes on for months, not days or weeks, you want to give up and take the easy way out and die because your too exhausted to fight it,
believe me if everyone realy knew what its like, you would stop smoking,
im not saying that smoking caused the cancer i had, theres no evidence to say that, but smoking certainly weakens the natural body defences that keep you well

@ Alan, thanks for another very interesting post. I am glad I have never risked smoking.

@imagine,
I cannot start to understand how that feels, all I can do is try to empathise with what you have gone through. But you are a survivor and an obvious fighter. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

grahamw48
23rd March 2012, 23:11
:iagree:

imagine
24th March 2012, 00:28
@ Alan, thanks for another very interesting post. I am glad I have never risked smoking.

@imagine,
I cannot start to understand how that feels, all I can do is try to empathise with what you have gone through. But you are a survivor and an obvious fighter. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

thanks steve :xxgrinning--00xx3:

:icon_lol: i might be tall and skinny but im a sure fighter :xxgrinning--00xx3:

and thanks graham :xxgrinning--00xx3:

i just wanted to try explain its no easy ride, its tougher than can be imagined, so if we can all help ourselves by doing what we can to lesten the chances of getting these terrible cancers, such as smoking for one, and a good diet would be a bonus , :)

Arthur Little
24th March 2012, 00:56
Thanks, Alan ... for yet another EXCELLENT, thought-provoking contribution. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

imagine
24th March 2012, 01:08
Thanks, Alan ... for yet another EXCELLENT, thought-provoking contribution. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Yes Thanks Alan, it certainly stirred me up , gave me chance to say a little from my experience view,
i know i have said bits before in other threads, but mostly i dont realy get to speak about it, and just keep it in me,

its one thing seeing a vid or film showing cancer patients, but when your there in the ongoligy wards, and see what others are going through who where not as lucky as myself, it certainly imprints in your mind,
im happy im well and im a surviver :xxgrinning--00xx3::D:D:D

ps i know mine wasnt lung cancer,as the thread is titled,,,,, but cancer is cancer

Doc Alan
24th March 2012, 10:14
Rayna, Graham, Steve, and Arthur - I'm glad you found my thread interesting :) - and realise that others learn from such posts without necessarily contributing :xxgrinning--00xx3:
Imagine ( Stewart ) - thanks for sharing your experiences with us. You - and other members - will know that I don't judge people's lifestyles, but in your case I agree that smoking probably had nothing to do with causing your cancer.

A few other comments :
* Chemotherapy which Stewart described - destruction of cancer cells with drugs - also damages other fast dividing cells ( which is why hair falls out, blood cells don't form properly, and people feel sick ). In the future, more drugs will be discovered which will target the mutated genes in cancer cells and leave all other ( normal ) cells alone. Some already exist - for leukaemia, breast cancer, and melanoma. This is because we now know so much about human genes - both normal and cancerous. There are too many different types of cancer to talk about complete cure - but there are reasons to be cheerful :xxgrinning--00xx3:.
* You might think that if people form antibodies to cancer cells ( the basis for the lung cancer test ), their own immune defenses could be exploited to treat cancer. That has proved very hard to do, despite much work - cancers suppress the immune system. But at last the immune response is being put to some use by this early diagnosis test :xxgrinning--00xx3:. Finding such tiny cancers - by CT and other scans - so they can be targetted by drugs / removed - is another challenge ! Vaccination is also available for some ( liver, cervix ).
* Although cancers are relatively commoner now (an age effect ), people are living longer with many of them. The answer for the cancers with little progress ( lung, stomach, pancreas, brain ) is earlier diagnosis. Screening already works for others ( breast, bowel, and cervix ).