World Lung Cancer Day: How to care for your lungs

Our esteemed reader, how are you?

Since 2012, the world has been commemorating World Lung Cancer Day every year on August 1.

The day is set apart to raise awareness of lung cancer matters and echo the dire need for more lung cancer research funding, destigmatization of the disease and escalate other conversations relevant to combating the disease.

As the world commemorates World Lung Cancer Day today, this special edition exclusively focuses on the situation around the disease, how to know whether or not you are at risk, and how to take care of yourself.

GLOBOCAN estimates that 2,094,000 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed worldwide in 2018, making lung cancer the leading cancer incidence globally. Over 80% of those affected are at risk of dying from it.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer among men, after prostate cancer, and is the second most prevalent cancer in women, after breast cancer.

Africa, being a developing continent, feels the weight of such diseases with a much heaviness, considering that medical developments to combat the disease are still in progress.

Causes

Various risk factors may be in play in causing lung cancer, depending on the environment, habits, gender and other aspects.

• Cigarette smoking: This is the top cause of lung cancer. Out of the over 7000 chemicals present in tobacco, most of which are toxic, at least 70 are known to cause cancer in humans and animals.

Tobacco smokers are 15 to 30 times more susceptible to lung cancer than non-smokers. At any stage, quitting smoking reduces the risks of getting lung cancer and other cancers related to the habit.

• Second-hand smoke: Staying around smokers exposes you to second-degree smoke and turns you into a passive smoker.

The toxic carcinogens in cigarette smoke from elsewhere can still cause lung cancer.

•  Radon: This is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas able to cause lung cancer. Radon gas cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. Outdoors, it is not harmful but when trapped inside buildings, homes, schools and other places, it becomes a health issue over time after humans keep inhaling it.

It can be tested and controlled by increasing air circulation rates in the building and through specialized underground ventilation systems to prevent the gas from entering the building through any available cracks and foundational spaces.

• Chest radiation therapy: Cancer survivors who underwent therapy treatment to the chest are susceptible to getting lung cancer.

Symptoms

Usually, the disease does not exhibit visible symptoms in its early stages, but they can be noticed as it advances. In any case, different people experience the symptoms in different ways, with some being related to the lungs, and others emanating from and around other areas affected.

These are some of the symptoms of lung cancer, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1. Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away.
2. Chest pain.
3. Shortness of breath.
4. Wheezing.
5. Coughing up blood.
6. Feeling very tired all the time.
7. Weight loss with no known cause.

Prevention

With the knowledge of what causes lung cancer, you are able to make an informed decision concerning your lifestyle.

• Quit smoking: The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner and quicker the lungs start healing from the carcinogens they’ve been exposed to.
• If you have never smoked, don’t try smoking.
• Avoid passive smoking: Try to stay away from deliberate exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarettes.
• Test for radon: If you stay in areas with high radon levels, such as the US, the best thing is to have your home tested for radon and the right measures taken to lower the levels.
• Eat well: Balanced diets, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, and other lifestyle approaches boost your immune system and enable you to fight most of the diseases, keeping you healthy and strong.
• Exercise regularly: The importance of regular exercise cannot be over-emphasized. It allows the
• Be careful at work: Maintaining high health and safety guidelines at the workplace can enable staff to avoid cancer-causing carcinogens.

Whenever any of the above symptoms persists, it is wise to seek a medical doctor’s intervention.

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Happy August and ciao for now.