Hello
I'm Kang Hyesun from the Department of Pulmonology at Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital
Today I'll be taking about information related to diagnosis of lung cancer
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Symptoms of lung cancer vary depending on where lung cancer occurs
So depending on the pattern of metastasis in the bronchial tubes or other body parts
The symptoms may vary
In general, some people are asymptomatic when diagnosed
And it could be often diagnosed through examination
If you have symptoms, the most common symptom is coughing
It can be accompanied by non-specific symptoms such as hemoptysis, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, chest pain
Or weakness, etc
Symptoms by Stage of Lung Cancer Progression
Early lung cancer may have no symptoms
Even advanced lung cancer may have different symptoms depending on the organ involved
If it occurs in the airway, it may cause symptoms of wheezing due to airway obstruction
The bronchus narrows and can cause pneumonia
Patients may experience coughs, fevers, chest pains etc
If the cancer has progressed to the chest wall, chest pain can occur
In the case of pleura, pleural effusion
May cause breathing difficulties
Also, if it invades a particular nerve located in the neck
It can also occur Horner syndrome, where your eyelids droop and your pupils get smaller
However, the symptoms vary greatly depending on each stage of progress, so it's hard to say all together
But if there's a metastasis in the brain
It can make you clumsy with words or lose your ability to move your arms and legs
It can also cause serious symptoms that can affect the quality of life
Can lung cancer be detected early?
So far, the most proven way to detect lung cancer early
Is if you are a smoker and have a family history
A low-dose chest CT scans are the only way
As I said, lung cancer increases with age
If you are 55 or older and have a smoking history of 30 years or more
We have lung cancer screening in Korea
Even if you're not subject to lung cancer screening, if you have a history of smoking
Or have a family history, you're at risk for lung cancer
Getting a low-dose CT scans at intervals of one to two years
Helps detect early development of lung cancer
The Harmfulness of Smoking
More than 70% of lung cancer patients are smokers
Smoking is the most potent risk factor for lung cancer
Therefore, quitting smoking is the most important thing in preventing lung cancer
Even if you have lung cancer, quitting smoking is a way to increase your response to treatment
If you look at the risk of lung cancer during non smoking period for smokers
If you quit smoking for 15 years, compared to current smokers
It's known to reduce the incidence of lung cancer by 75%
The longer you quit smoking, the more you can prevent lung cancer
so please keep that in mind
Lung Cancer Testing and Diagnosis Method at Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital
In our hospital to diagnose lung cancer, a low-dose of chest CT scan
And to assess malignant tumor metastasis, a whole-body PET scan
And head MRI, and bone scan is performed
For histological diagnosis, a Bronchoscopy and percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsy are performed
In particular, lymph nodes are very important in determining how to treat it
And through ultrasound bronchoscopy, if necessary, Staging of lymphoma is also performed
So that was some information regarding lung cancer diagnosis
Prevention is more important than diagnosis for lung cancer
So I want to emphasize that you should quit smoking
If you haven't quit smoking yet
Or if you're a high-risk lung cancer patient with a long smoking period
We recommend that you do a low-dose chest CT scan regularly
Thank you