Lung cancer is a malignant and invasive epithelial tumor that spreads by metastasis and often recurs after excision, and is one of the most common cancers among people in the United States today. Lung cancer is not the only cancer that exist. There are many more types of cancer that are among people in the United States today and it leads to people having to take all types of medicine to try and overcome symptoms of cancer. Cancer does not only occur in adults it can occur in children to. Some kids are born with cancer and they really have to fight hard to overcome it.
There are some organizations and fundraising groups that are trying to find a cure for cancer and help out those who can not afford for all the treatment they need. Some cancers may make your body weak over a period of time and later down the road lead to death such as breast and lung cancer have done to people. Cancer may be recognized in the early stages or in later stages. Usually families try to do what is best for the person who has cancer. There is also its toll that it has on families when it comes to trying to take care of someone depending on what stage of cancer they are in.
So what are the effects of lung cancer and how does it play a role on family’s daily life? Cancer is something that has grabbed my attention ever since my grandfather has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He has had lung cancer for quite some time. Additionally, my great uncle was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year. With me going into the health field, I am studying kinesiology and will have to learn about the body. Since I am going into the health field Exercise Science or Occupational Therapy health is a plays a big role with people who have lung cancer because it can affect their breathing and how the body moves.
A healthy body needs strength to go about daily life and for movements. I was drawn to cancer from the time my grandfather was told that he had it. I know that cancer is part of life and is something people have to go through. When my grandfather was told he had lung cancer, he kind of changed. Whenever I would hear the word cancer I would think of the disease that has potential to kill someone. Cancer is a deadly disease that has some very serious effects on a person both physically and mentally. Cancer can result in a simple surgery that may take only a couple days, or a life-long struggle (Kelly pg.5).
It will put fear in anyone’s eyes and will mess up even the strongest of people, but cancer can bring out the courage in a person to fight this disease and not give up. It can be a deadly disease but it can also bring out the strength in someone which is an amazing thing. It was said in a healthcare article that lung cancer has many serious effects on a person’s body and their mental health and others, but can also inspire a person to fight this disease with all their heart. “In the early stages of lung cancer, symptoms are hard to recognize. Doctors use special machines to detect each stage.
Treatments and cures differ in each individual case. Lung cancer is a huge problem because it is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. In the United States 85 to 90 percent of all lung cancer cases are related to smoking. Cigarette smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. Treatment depends on the type of lung cancer, the size of the tumor, the location of the tumor, the stage of illness, the age of the patient, and the overall health of the patient. Surgery is performed to remove the tumor if there is no chance that the cancer has spread.
It is estimated that about 152,700 people die each year on account of the enormous lung cancer problem” (Lung Cancer Health article). When it comes to cancer it is apart of life and some people have to go through it. There are many types of cancer that exist among humans. Cancer is disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. “Symptoms of lung cancer the growth of the cancer and invasion of lung tissues and surrounding tissue may interfere with breathing, leading to symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing up blood and chest pains” (Pandya, Brahmer, and Hidalgo pg.27).
Cancer can even pay a toll on you mentally depending on how people take it when they are told. Having cancer and trying to overcome it is also stressful due to the medicine you have to take and the treatments that you have to undergo. Sometimes people forget to take the medicine that they are prescribed to take, and some people have to take more than others (Jones Interview). When I talked to my grandfather about it he told me he would always try to take his medicine around the same time everyday so he would have schedule he would go by.
He was taking different medicines for all of his symptoms that he had and told me he was getting tired of taking it but he had to. Over time his body became weak and his breathing wasn’t that good. He had to walk around the house with a breathing machine but he could barley do that due to lack of strength and he would lose in breath quick. Treatment for lung cancer may vary depending on what stage you are in or even how you may react certain medications (Lung Cancer Health article). Anybody can fight hard to overcome cancer if you are in the early stages.
It is rare that you overcome cancer when you get into higher stages of cancer. One of the best treatment for lung cancer is to get notified in the early stages of it so that you can go under the procedures that come along with fighting off the cancer. Cancer has many affects and will also affect the family. When someone is diagnosed with cancer it makes the family want to do everything that they can do possible to try and help out the person who has it. When my grandfather was told he had cancer my mother and my aunties were there to help him out.
They all had different times for different days due to their work schedule. It made them want to be there him and not only that let him know that they care for him and my grandmother. Also when my grandmother was sick for quite amount of time and my mother and aunties would also do what they could do for her. At first it started out good with helping them. When they would be over the house helping out my grandparents they had numerous things to do such as make food for them, make sure they take the right medicine according to time they need to have it, and made sure they stayed off of there feet.
Over the period of time and started to become redundant and my mother would tell that she would be tired because she works midnights and would go over there in the morning to work out. They all started to get tired and even started stressing over the situation. My grandmother eventually became healthy again and they didn’t have to worry bout her as much as my grandfather. Everybody stress level started to go down when my grandmother got better and they could just try to concentrate on my grandfather. He was getting weaker and weaker as days passed.
When I talked to him he said he knew his time was coming but he don’t know when. During the whole time everybody was helping, even my little cousins would help, out he was trying to prepare us for what would happen next. My mother told me that he was put on hospice and which is when someone is in there last stages of living and nothing can really be done. He later passed while in his sleep. Families stress level will rise over the course of time and I have seen it firsthand. The way people react will also change, such as mood swings, and even peoples attitude.
Dealing with any kind of illness will change the way people go about living. Throughout it all my family was supportive for my grandfather but would have attitudes when it came down to certain things if the medicine wasn’t giving around the same time or if it wasn’t giving at all. The make a wish foundation is one organization I know of who help kids out if they have cancer. This is one of the biggest organizations I know of who tries to help out families. Cancer is a deadly disease that we all know of.
The information that I read found about cancer is very informative on how things may spread throughout your body and cause bodily harm. Cancer is the number one cause of death in the United States (Kelly pg. 76). Lung cancer is the most common cancer and if not spotted early can be the hardest to get rid of. Lung cancer can be prevented for those people who smoke, simply by cutting the habit completely or never starting at all and as long as people go get checked out regularly and check themselves out also. Families need to stick together in times of need and need to let everyone know that they are there for them.
There are people who have overcame cancer and are still living today and some who was not able to make it. Works Cited Pandya, Kishan J. , Julie R. Brahmer, and Manuel Hidalgo. Lung Cancer: Translational and Emerging Therapies. New York: Inform Healthcare, 2007.
Desai, Sujal. Lung Cancer. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2007. Jones, Jack. Pesronal interview. Kelly, Jeanne. What You Need to Know about Cancer of the Colon and Rectum. [Bethesda, Md. ]: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 2006. Print. “Lung Cancer. ” C-Health. Ed. MedBroadcast Clinical Team. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .