Lung Cancer Health Video

Last Update: March 12, 2009

Video By: LIVESTRONG.COM

Lung cancer is when lung cells become cancerous and grow at an abnormal rate taking over the lungs and spreading to other parts of the body. Lung cancer is one of the leaders in deaths caused by cancer. In this video learn more about this serious condition, its causes and possible treatments.

Views: 3,942
Comments: 4
Transcript of this video

Take Action

Stop smoking
Avoid second hand smoke
If suspected, see doctor
Undergo treatment as directed

About this Author

Justin C. K. Davis, M.D. is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians, and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon a philosophy of excellent customer service and excellent patient care.

by marie723 on October 16, 2008 at 9:34 AM

What about the people who are diagnosed and have never smoked or been exposed to second hand smoke! The occurance of lung cancer in non-smokers is becoming more and more prevalent. My mother in law is only 56 and one of the healthiest people I know. She has NEVER smoked or been exposed to second hand smoke and there is not enough information for these patients. It seems as though there is not enough research being done to cure this terrible disease because of the stigma that attaches it to smoking.

by LAFBrooke on November 11, 2008 at 7:02 AM

Marie723-We are so sorry to hear about your MIL. You are right. Not all lung cancers are caused by smoking. Some are linked to asbestos, agent orange, pollution and 2nd hand smoke as well as hereditary links. 80-90% of all lung cancer, however, has been linked to smoking. I think the doctor here is trying to make sure that people understand how important it is to stop smoking. Lung cancer carries such a stigma in our country. How frustrating it is for people to automatically link your MIL's cancer to smoking. Please know that the Lance Armstrong Foundation offers support, information, help with treatment decisions and clinical trial matching to people affected by cancer. Please contact us if you or your MIL would ike to talk. 1-866-235-7205.

by shaney on November 11, 2008 at 9:38 AM

I am a 40 year old woman with two young children, who has NEVER smoked (in fact, I avoided smoke), and has had none to minimal known exposure to any other known risk factors (and no family history of cancer). Do not assume you are safe. It is time to prioritize this disease and find a cure and more effective treatments. Senate Bill 3187 is currently in committee which dedicates funding to reduce lung cancer deaths by 50% (keep in mind, even with this great progress, lung cancer would remain the #1 cancer killer...). Contact your Senator today!

It is true that the vast majority of cases are in individuals who have smoked. But let's be clear...since lung cancer is the biggest of all cancer killers, roughly 16,000-32,000 individuals will die of lung cancer THIS YEAR who never smoked at all. Also, another 40% are in former smokers. They have already seen the light. So only 40-50% of lung cancer cases would be in current smokers. Let's not overdo the smoking cessation point...incredibly important, but the stigma associated with the disease (because people all assume that we deserved it) stands in the way of funding, advovacy, research, etc...everything that could make a difference and impact the statistics. Lung cancer victims see the equivalent impact of a 9/11 EVERY WEEK! Please do your part!

We are regularly adding new articles and videos to the site to enhance our members' experience. Tell us what topics you want to read about or watch and we'll make sure you always find the content you need!

JUSTIN C.K. DAVIS, M.D.: Hi. My name is Dr. Justin Davis, and today we will be discussing lung cancer. Now lung cancer is when the cells in the lungs become cancerous and grow at an abnormal rate and take over the lungs and can spread to other parts of the body. Lung cancer can be divided into nonsmall-cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer; we will discuss the difference later on. Now listen up because this is very important, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States today. More cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year than colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and lymphomas combined, that is a lot of deaths due to lung cancer, and most lung cancers, in fact 90% of lung cancers are due to tobacco use in smoking. So what does that tell you? Well that tells you that we have a lot of smokers and we need to do something about that. So if you are smoker, it is time to quit. Now what are the symptoms of lung cancer? Well unfortunately, lung cancer does not usually present until it is at a later stage but once it does, it's spread a little bit more in the lungs and has become more difficult to treat. Some of the more common symptoms may be a chronic cough that is not going away or coughing up blood, may be difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, or if the lung cancer has spread to another part of the body then you may have other problems such as pain in other parts of the body or maybe the other organs are not working as well. So what is the treatment? Well again, the best treatment of course is to prevent it. So if you are a smoker, you should quit because not only may the tobacco smoke increase your chances of getting it but also the secondhand smoke is very dangerous. There are some other things that may cause lung cancer as well like exposure to asbestos or other kinds of environmental toxins but again the most common cause is exposure to cigarette smoke. When we treat lung cancer, it really depends upon exactly what kind of lung cancer and where it is located in the body and how advanced it is. Often, surgery is indicated to remove the parts of the body that have the cancer and the cancer cells as best as possible and also chemotherapy and radiation are also employed often to try to shrink down the tumor size or get rid of some of the cancer cells. So prevention again, do not smoke and avoid people that do smoke, this will greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer. And even if you do smoke now, it still helps tremendously to stop smoking not just to avoid cancer in the future but also many other problems that are associated with this. So if you think that you may have a problem that could be lung cancer, it may or may not be lung cancer but it probably is something that needs to be evaluated by a doctor so do not wait, go into see them right away.