When cancer is diagnosed, the doctor will usually go through the next step that is to figure out the stage of cancer.

Cancer stages are used to help patients understand the extent of their cancer and the prognosis.

Staging cancer may seem confusing, but it is actually not that difficult to understand.

Defining Staging

A process called staging will determine cancer stages and the severity of the cancer.

Cancer staging is based on the extent of how much the cancer has spread in the body.

Doctors will perform additional tests to check the body for cancer and to get a good idea of where the cancer is, where it began and if it is spreading.

The importance of Staging

How to treat the cancer is one of the most important parts of the process.

It is also useful for future research and understanding how that particular cancer reacts in the body.

Here are the reasons why staging is truly important:

* Helps form a treatment plan

* It helps doctors to form a prognosis

* Helpful in research studies

Components of Staging

Staging is done by looking at different factors.

There are certain elements that are included when determining cancer stages in order to help maintain a level of consistency for staging. These staging elements include:

* Location of the beginning of the cancer

* Size and number of tumors

* Location of cancer in the lymph nodes

* Cell type and grade of tumor

* Level of metastasis

In general, cancer stages are based upon a simple five-stage chart. Here is how that looks:

Stage 0 : Only pre-cancerous cells are present or early.

Stage 1,2,3: Cancer is really present and it may have spread in the localized area.

Stage Four: Cancer has spread everywhere in the body

Understanding cancer stages is not always easy, but it is important. A person receiving a diagnosis of cancer in stage 1 will know that their cancer is easier to treat and therefore their prognosis will likely be good.

Anne Durrel comes from Stockton, California. She has written a number of articles on Lung Cancer . Please also check out her other guide on lung cancer survival rate tips, and small cell cancer guide!

Being diagnosed with lung cancer can be very scary. Most people want to know their lung cancer prognosis. Knowing the prognosis can help you to understand your treatment and how you will deal with your diagnosis.

About Prognosis

Lung cancer prognosis is an overview backed by medical facts as to what is likely to occur now that you have been diagnosed with lung cancer. The prognosis for each person will be different and individualized. The prognosis can be different due to:

* Cancer nature

* Cancer spot

* Cancer staging

* The likelihood of the cancer spreading

* How old the patient is

* The patient’s general health

* How the patient act in response to treatment

On the other hand, a lung cancer prognosis is just an overlook. It is not a factual prediction of what will really occur. The prognosis can take more time for any doctor to have a good prognosis since it will be researched to make certain it is as precise as possible.

Help from a Prognosis

A lung cancer prognosis can help you to plan the course of treatment, understand what you need to change in your life and make decisions about where to go from here. Your doctor will work with you to help you understand what stage your disease is at and how that will affect your treatment and your life.

Finding your Prognosis

You can find medical web sites and do a search to find information on lung cancer that will let you really understand your diagnosis.

It is necessary, though, to keep an eye on misleading information on lung cancer. An important thing to remember is that everyone can make a web site about lung cancer and publish information, even if it is not factual.

You must also keep in mind that not everyone will have the same experiences with lung cancer. The disease may run its course differently with different people.

Anne Durrel comes from California. She began writing about Lung Cancer several years ago. You may want to check out her other guide on symptoms of lung cancer tips, and lung cancer statistics guide!

One difficulty in diagnosing lung cancer is the fact that in many patients symptoms of the disease are not apparent until the cancer is in an advanced stage.

That is why it is very important for people, especially those at high risk, to understand lung cancer symptoms. People must be aware what these symptoms are and see their doctor if they even suspect they may have lung cancer.

Unsuspected Disease

Lung cancer does not usually produce any tell tale symptoms in earlier stages. Usually when symptoms do present they are related to the growth of the tumor or the spread of cancer to other areas of the body. In many cases, lung cancer is discovered when a chest x-ray is taken for another reason.

Without early symptoms, early detection of lung cancer is not possible, and as the disease grows, it becomes more difficult to treat and the likelihood of it spreading to other parts of the body becomes more likely.

Even when symptoms do present, it can be difficult to notice that they are something more than a chest cold or other common respiratory illness. Many times people ignore them or use over the counter medication to try and treat what they believe is a simple virus.

Signs

Lung cancer symptoms are usually similar to those you would feel with a common virus or infection. They include:

* A cough that will not go away

* Pains in the chest

* Feeling winded

The best way to catch lung cancer symptoms early is to just be aware. Some things to be aware of and watch for are:

* If you smoke or used to smoke and you suddenly develop a new cough

* A cough that just will not go away no matter what medication you use to treat it.

* Chest pain that does not go away

* Gasping

* Hoarseness

* Ongoing respiratory illness

Metastatic are a type of lung cancer tumors, which cause different symptoms and react differently in the body. They can affect the adrenal glands, the bones and even spread to the brain. Other types of lung cancer do not cause any symptoms.

The high death rate of lung cancer is due in large part to the fact that it is very difficult to diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.

Anne Durrel has written extensively on Lung Cancer . She comes from California. You may want to check out her other guide on signs of lung cancer tips, and lung cancer symptoms guide!

It is not easy to understand the figures about the lung cancer survival rate.

You really have to understand how these are put together and what exactly they represent.

There are factors that influence how these rates are determined and what you see in the rates may not be exactly what you think.

The Basics

Lung Cancer Survival Rate statements refer to a group of people suffering from one specific type of lung cancer, at a certain stage.

Survival statistics may also indicate rate for people suffering from lung cancer at any stage.

No matter if the person still has cancer or is in remission, usually the statistics relate to the survival rate after 5 years.

Understand that the lung cancer statistics are based upon average and a large group of people. And since every case is very different, so they only predict what the survival rate will be for a particular person.

Lung Cancer Survival Rate Factors

As I have written above that, many things influence the lung cancer survival rate statistics. Below are some factors that can alter survival rates area:

* Cancer Stage

* The type

* Signs present

* Health condition in general

* The date of cancer diagnosis

When a doctor gives patient information on the possible outcome of their diagnosis, it is based upon a general idea of what happens in the average case.

It is only an estimate, not an exact science.

The Average of Lung Cancer Survival Rate

The average Lung Cancer Survival Rate for those diagnosed with early stage lung cancer is 49%. This means that 49 out of 100 people live for at least 5 years after diagnosis.

On the other hand, people diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread have only a 3% survival rate or only 3 out of 100 people live at least 5 years after diagnosis.

How to Use Survival Rates

Now that you understand, what Lung Cancer Survival Rate statistics means you can begin to understand how they may be used.

The most common use is to help patients understand what lies ahead for them in dealing with the disease and the possibility of their death.

Her name is Anne Durrel, originally comes from California. She has written several articles about Lung Cancer . Check out her other guide on what is cung cancer, and lung cancer staging guide!

Lung cancer happens to be an abnormality in the tissue within the lung where the cell’s typical routine of life is to develop new cells if they are needed – but with a malignancy, this development is out of control.

Many lung cancers, approximately ninety five%, are cancers of the outermost tissue on the lung, although a very tiny percentage of these lung malignancies might be mesotheliomas that are coming from lung cancers of the pleura.

Diagnosing Lung Malignancy

Diagnosing lung cancer is difficult at times since 25 percent of sufferers identified as having lung malignancy could have absolutely no warning signs before diagnosis. A diagnosis happens in most of these cases when a chest x-ray may be carried out for a different unrelated cause and an anomaly shows up. In most cases a biopsy (small piece of lung tissue) is used in order to verify the diagnosis.

Symptoms such as lingering chest discomfort, wheezing and coughing, losing weight, exhaustion, chronic hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing can be attributed to cancer stages and therefore diagnosis of lung cancer may be delayed.

Earlier stages of lung cancer malignancy are considered far more responsive to treatment and less likely to have additional organ involvement but that of course is dependent upon the type of cancer too.

Reports state that around eighty% of deaths related to lung cancer malignancy around the globe are due to smoking though other carcinogens can also lead to lung cancer. Exposure to Radon gas is a root cause of lung cancer with practically twelve % of all lung cancer deaths attributable to radon exposure.

Particles in the air likewise seem to have some relation to the development of some types of lung cancer. The finer the air particle the more deeply it penetrates within the lung.

Asbestos fibers are also a reason for lung cancer – these silicate fibers can easily remain inside the lungs over time periods of more than 20 years. Employees subjected to these asbestos fibers have a five X increased chance of developing lung cancer malignancy and smokers that are exposed have got a 50 to 90 times greater risk than non-smokers.

Various other lung conditions appear to increase the danger of developing lung cancer to four or five times above normal.

Treating Lung Cancer

Chemotherapy is a program of drug treatments intended to effectively poison the cancer growths. Radiation treatment may perhaps be used with a healing intention on lung malignancy or it can be used for symptom relief or as a precaution after surgical procedures.

Surgery – Certain lung cancers are operable and others are not, but usually surgery is followed or preceded by chemotherapy or radiation to attempt and kill any stray cancerous cells. This strategy is often utilized in cases where the cancer has been diagnosed in its beginning stages and hasn’t multiply to other areas of the body.

Treatment would depend on the stage of the lung cancer as well as involvement of the certain other bodily organs, the type of cancer, and the overall condition of the affected person with the lung cancer. The possible treatment protocols change daily, and brand new and experimental treatments for lung cancer and its different forms are now being created constantly.

Her name is Anne Durrel. She comes from California. She has written extensively on Lung Cancer . You may want to check out her other guide on cancer stages tips, and lung cancer facts guide!