Small Cell Lung Cancer and Smoking

March 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are many different types of lung cancers and not all are caused by smoking. Thousands of people every year are diagnosed with lung cancer who have never smoked or been subjected to second hand smoke. Sadly though, there is one type of lung cancer that is almost always caused by tobacco use. This disease is called small cell lung cancer.

This type of cancer is one of the most aggressive types. It is very fast growing and spreads quickly to other parts of the body. Approximately twenty percent of lung cancer cases diagnosed are small cell. Other contributors to small cell lung cancer include being exposed to asbestos or uranium. Radon poisoning can also be a factor.

Small cell lung cancer rarely exhibits symptoms until it has spread outside of the lung, therefore it is often diagnosed in a later stage of the disease. Some of the symptoms that are common are shortness of breath, pain in the area of the ribs, back or chest, a hoarse voice, coughing that may or may not include coughing up blood and trouble swallowing.

One of the most common forms of treatment for small cell lung cancer is chemotherapy. Surgery is rarely done as it has been proven that it does not slow down the progression of the disease and is of little use in treating the cancer. Radiation is often times used in conjunction with a chemotherapy plan.
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The Link Between Smoking and Cancer

February 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion smokers in the world according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is expected that smoking will kill approximately 6.5 million people by the year 2015. Statistics show that more than 18 percent of all deaths in the USA annually occur as a result of smoking. In 2009 there were 46 million smokers in the USA alone according to The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) .

It is a well known fact that smoking causes an increase in the prevalence of some types of cancer. Tar has been identified as the primary cause. The smoke itself is seen as cancer causing and affects not only the smoker, but also the nonsmoker who inhales environmental tobacco smoke. A cigarette contains between 60 to 80 different cancer-causing agents.

Which Cancers Does Smoking Cause?

When many people think of smoking and cancer, only lung cancer comes to mind. However, smoking has been linked to many other types of cancer. Six of the cancers most often associated with the habit are:

1. Lung

2. Bladder

3. Mouth

4. Esophageal

5. Throat

6. Larynx

Evidence is also emerging that smoking may have an impact on other cancers such ovarian, liver, stomach, bowel and breast. Research has shown that smoking over time causes a buildup of dangerous poisons in the body which damages the organs and inhibits normal functioning of the body. Some of these toxins are cadmium, benzene and arsenic. Individually these compounds are dangerous, when combined they are deadly. Scientists have found that the blood of smokers has 10 times as much arsenic as that of nonsmokers.

There can be no doubt based on the number of studies done over the years that smoking is a prime cause of cancer in humans. The good news is that for many people, most of the cancers listed above can be prevented by not smoking.

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Why do People Smoke?

January 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you hate to read long articles, “because smoking feels good, it takes away a bad feeling, and the smoker has a memory of when smoking felt really good at some point in the past.”  Maybe you are satisfied with a short sentence that can be completely encapsulated within a simple sentence, and maybe you want a deeper explanation.  Smokers continue to practice their habit, obviously enough, because they get something out of doing so.  If they did not, the habit would rapidly be marginalized to a place where pipe smoking tends to reside- just an occasional thing that serves no purpose besides a habit.  But smoking is a whole lot more than just a habit to those who practice it on a regular basis.

Smoking makes a person feel good in the short term.  If you tell a smoker (or even show them pictures) about all of the various types of cancers that their little cylindrical carcinogen friends are going to hit them with, the smoker will most likely nod in understanding… and keep on doing it.  After all, every smoker had a very good experience early in their habit’s career- a perfect smoke, if you will.  And while that perfect smoke will never come back, no matter how many times they puff, part of why they smoke is out of a desire to recapture that glorious moment.

And while smoking does make a person feel good, it also keeps them feeling pretty bad.  Often times, a smoker will want to light up the most when they are feeling depressed, scared or angry.  The nature of having a smoke in order to calm their nerves is a combination of deep breathing (which is universally relaxing), a practiced series of comfortable motions, and the nicotine rush that satisfies their desire for it.  The cravings hurt, after all, and the cig itself is a great way to get the craving to ease off for a while.

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The Facts on Secondhand Smoke

December 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Chances are that you or someone you know is a smoker. In fact, you have probably sat in the same room or area that they have smoked in. What many non-smokers do not know is that while they are not physically smoking the cigarette they are in fact experiencing a phenomenon known as passive smoking or secondhand smoking. This act of passive smoking or secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous as smoking the actual tobacco cigarette.

Tobacco cigarettes are made up of over 4,000 harmful chemicals and pollutants that can cause health problems. While a smoker who is inhaling it has a major chance of experiencing health problems from these chemicals, a person who is exposed to secondhand smoke is just as exposed to the health problems that can come from smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Here is a look at some of the statistics regarding secondhand smoke. While most of the statistics cover what happens to children, there are significant findings that secondhand smoke does affect both children and adults who are exposed to it.

In a study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency it is estimated that over 3,000 cases of lung cancer are discovered in people who have never smoked a cigarette a day in their life. However, these people were exposed to amounts of secondhand smoke which is believed to be the cause of the cancer.

Children under the age of six who have been exposed to secondhand smoke showed increased signs of asthma. These signs developed over time and were not there when the children were born.

Cases of sudden infant death syndrome were higher in households that had large amounts of secondhand smoke.

Children of all ages that are exposed to secondhand smoke have multiple cases of inner and middle ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis and colds and coughs.

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