Lung cancer: Symptoms you shouldn't ignore.

With symptoms such as persistent cough, coughing up blood, chest pain, etc., patients should immediately consider the possibility of lung cancer symptoms so that the disease can be detected as early as possible.

Illustrative image.

Hoarseness due to lung cancer

At the Central Lung and Tuberculosis Hospital, Mr. Nguyen The Viet, 56 years old, from Thai Binh province, said: Since Tet (Lunar New Year), he has felt hoarse and had difficulty speaking. His family thought he had pharyngitis or laryngitis, so they bought medicine for him to take. However, his voice became increasingly hoarse.

He went for a check-up at the provincial hospital, where doctors took X-rays and discovered a tumor in his lung, but it was unclear whether it was benign or malignant. Mr. Viet then went to the National Lung Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a tumor in his left lung. After treatment, doctors performed surgery and cell tests. The results showed that Mr. Viet had lung cancer.

Since learning he had lung cancer, Mr. Viet has been depressed, unable to eat or sleep. He is undergoing radiation therapy, but he constantly sighs, feeling like he's in a hopeless situation, not knowing when he will die.

Similarly, Mr. Dinh Quang Nam, 54 years old, residing in Hanoi, experienced persistent coughing. Upon hospitalization, Mr. Nam discovered he had a tumor in his left lung, and the cancer had progressed to stage 3B. Despite the late stage, Mr. Nam still hoped for treatment to prolong his life. He is currently undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. To date, the tumor in his left lung has significantly faded, leaving only a fibrous band.

The prognosis for lung cancer remains very poor.

Lung cancer is one of the leading cancers in Vietnam, second only to breast cancer. The biggest challenge is that it is often detected at a late stage, resulting in a high mortality rate among patients.

According to Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the Central Lung and Tuberculosis Hospital, lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Vietnam as well as several other countries. In the US, the rate of lung cancer patients and deaths is four times higher than other types of cancer.

The majority of lung cancer patients have a tobacco-related history. The situation in Vietnam remains quite serious, with the number of patients steadily increasing while the prognosis for lung cancer treatment is still very poor.

Compared to breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer, although the incidence rate is high, the cure rate is also very high. Lung cancer, on the other hand, has roughly the same incidence and mortality rates. The survival rate for patients is only 2%.

Professor Nhung believes that, like many other types of cancer, lung cancer is different if detected early. However, early detection is not easy. According to statistics from medical experts, the survival rate for people with stage 1 lung cancer is up to 70%. However, the majority of patients in Vietnam are diagnosed at a late stage, when complete treatment is no longer possible; very few are still able to have the tumor surgically removed.

Early symptoms of the disease are often nonspecific. Coughing is the most common symptom, but it can also be a sign of many other conditions. In addition, some people may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, weight loss, hoarseness, fever, and joint pain. Persistent coughing was present in 87% of patients seeking treatment, followed by chest pain in 86% and weight loss in 68%.

According to Dr. Ta Chi Phuong, Head of the Oncology Department at the Central Lung and Tuberculosis Hospital, the basic treatment methods for lung cancer currently are surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

Regarding surgery, Dr. Phuong stated that it is only feasible for patients with early detection and localized tumors. In later stages, surgery cannot remove all tumors because they have invaded and spread to surrounding areas. Surgery also easily leads to recurrence and distant metastasis. Radiotherapy, on the other hand, has a broader indication for destroying cancer cells that have spread to the primary cancer cells, which surgery would not be able to remove completely.

Regarding chemotherapy, Dr. Phuong stated that for lung cancer, systemic chemotherapy is used to destroy all cancer cells that are circulating in the patient's body. However, this method destroys many healthy cells and has significant side effects affecting the patient's overall health, so the dosage of chemicals administered is limited.

Additionally, there is targeted therapy, which involves interfering with specific molecules involved in the mechanism of cancer development and tumor growth; these molecules are called molecular targets. This method does not offer a cure.

Dr. Phuong explained that each of the above methods only addresses one step in the treatment process; the methods complement and support each other to form a complete treatment process that thoroughly resolves cancer.

According to Alobacsi.vn