What is lung cancer?

The cells of all living organisms normally divide and grow in a controlled manner. Cancer results when this control process is lost. A lump or tumour, known as the primary tumour can grow locally or spread to produce secondary tumours somewhere else in the body. This spreading process is called metastasis.

About 40,000 people in the UK die every year from lung cancer. It is the most common form of cancer in the UK and the most common cause of death from cancer in both men and women although it affects more men than women.

What causes lung cancer?

Tobacco smoke is the primary cause of lung cancer. Although nonsmokers can get lung cancer, the risk is about 10 times greater for smokers and is also increased by the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

If you are a heavy smoker consuming more than 20 cigarettes a day, the risk of developing lung cancer is about 30 to 40 times higher than if you don’t smoke.

The main reason for the substantial increase in the disease over the last 50 years has been the increase in the number of people who smoke cigarettes. This has resulted from the industrial production and marketing of tobacco.

The risk of lung cancer in an ex-smoker falls to the same level as a nonsmoker after about 15 years. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a worrisome uptick in the incidence of certain head and neck cancers among middle-aged and even younger Americans, and some experts link the trend to a rise in the popularity of oral sex over the past few decades.

That’s because the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major trigger for these cancers, and HPV can be transmitted through this type of sexual activity.

“It seems like a pretty good link that more sexual activity, particularly oral sex, is associated with increased HPV infection,” said Dr. Greg Hartig, professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Read the rest of this entry »

Prostate cancer is a disease that affects men from around the age of 45 years. It involves the prostate gland, which is a small gland about the size of a walnut, positioned just beneath the bladder, and is responsible for producing fluids that nourish and protect sperm.

Since the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder) passes through the centre of the prostate gland, any growth within the gland will cause pressure on the urethra, causing difficulties in passing urine.

It is still not entirely clear why some men develop prostate cancer and others do not. However, we do know that there are both genetic and environmental factors that can influence it.

In terms of genetic factors, you have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer if your father or brother had prostate cancer, although the increased risk is relatively small. Read the rest of this entry »