Joseph Thornberry
American Military University
Abstract
This research paper sheds some light on the biggest killer of the American people, lung cancer. Lung cancer is explained, statistics are given, and information about treatments of lung cancer are described. Cancer can be tumors on the lungs and could metastasize throughout the body. Lung cancer has different classifications. Classified by the location and whether or not it has spread to both lungs, lymph nodes, or other parts of the body. The two main types of cancer are non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Main treatments of cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, all of which come with some type …show more content…
Lung Cancer in America
There is one event no person can escape and that event is death. According to the American Lung Association, “Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United States” (Lung Cancer Fact Sheet, 2015). Cancer frightens many individuals and there is numerous kinds of cancer, but this paper will discuss specifically lung cancer. In this paper lung cancer will be closely examined from what lung cancer is, facts about lung cancer, and treatments.
First of all, lung cancer is a group of abnormal cells growing in the lungs that can form into a tumor, which those tumors could begin to spread to other parts of the lung or body (What is lung cancer, 2015). If a foreign body was to start attacking the human lung it would be detrimental. No human can hold their breath for an extended period of time and anything that restricts breathing makes living life very difficult. Lungs provide the …show more content…
After a doctor finds the cancer he will make the determination as to the easiest way to remove the cancer. Different recommendations the doctor may consult with the patient include surgery with a thoracic surgeon and then adjuvant therapy to keep lung cancer from returning, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy (Lung Cancer: Treatment options 2015). Radiation and chemotherapy target cancerous cells because radiation therapy uses x rays to block cell division and chemotherapy is when a doctor will administer drugs to eliminate the cancer cells (Tortora, G. Derrickson B. 2012). When a patient undergoes chemotherapy they will need to be seen by an Oncologist. This is the doctor who specializes in Chemotherapy and will come up with the treatment plan for the individual. None of these ways of treating lung cancer are full proof and sometimes doctors will need to try more than one of these treatments. There are also treatments patients may discuss with their doctor that are new and still an experimental process. One new type of treatment is called virotherapy, which uses viruses in order to kill cancer cells. The road to becoming cancer free is long and tough. Some of these treatments, especially chemotherapy have side effects. Side effects that have been portrayed throughout movies and the heart breaking photographs of children that