When the lungs begin to "become cancerous", the body may show 4 symptoms. Doctors: It is best not to be careless

The lungs are an important place for our own gas exchange. They help us expel carbon dioxide produced in the body, inhale oxygen, and ensure our health.

In an era of rising living standards and faster economic development, scientific and technological strength is constantly strengthened, and medical technology levels are constantly improving. However, the incidence of lung cancer is still increasing year by year, and the prognosis is poor. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death for both men and women .

There are also many lung cancer patients around us. When it comes to lung cancer, most people have more or less fear in their hearts. Cancer is often difficult to detect in the early stages , and most people have been infected without knowing it. Late-stage cancer is often directly related to death. So far, late-stage cancer is still an incurable disease in our real life, and the mortality rate is very high.

Why is the incidence of lung cancer so high? What can we do to reduce the incidence of lung cancer? What are the causes of lung cancer? Let's learn about it together!

1. What are the causes of lung cancer?

As a developing country, China is not only a country with strong talent, but also a country with a high incidence of lung cancer. The incidence of lung cancer has reached 17%. It is a malignant tumor originating from the bronchi and is affected by the combined effects of multiple factors. Common influencing factors in our daily life include smoking, diet, secondhand smoke, air pollution and a history of chronic lung infections .

1. Smoking

We all know that smoking is a very important factor in causing lung cancer and is extremely harmful. There is also a sentence engraved on our common cigarette boxes, "Smoking is harmful to health." This reminds the majority of smokers, but most smokers turn a blind eye to it. Why is this?

On the one hand, the reason is that most smokers do not have professional knowledge of disease prevention. On the other hand, the reason is that people do not realize the harmfulness of smoking and cannot resist temptation and herd mentality.

Research has found that a cigarette will release more than 60 carcinogens after being lit, among which nitrosamines and benzopyrene are the most carcinogenic, and they are the biggest threat to our respiratory system. The incidence of lung cancer is not only related to what kind of cigarette you smoke, but also closely related to the age and number of smokers .

2. Secondhand smoke

Secondhand smoke contains more than 40 carcinogens .

As we all know, the human gene sequence includes oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, that is, when a person inhales secondhand smoke for a long time, lung cells are stimulated, oncogenes are activated, and some normal cells become cancer cells . When the human immune system is low or the tumor suppressor genes cannot detect and eliminate cancer cells in time, cancer cells will rapidly proliferate, leading to cancer. Therefore, we should stay away from secondhand smoke, strengthen our physical fitness, and eat more foods containing vitamin C.

3. Diet

Delicious food is a huge temptation for most people, but for some patients with chronic diseases, diet therapy is also one of the effective means to control and prevent the disease. For example, diabetic patients should mainly eat low-sugar foods, while patients with hypertension should mainly eat low-salt and low-fat foods.

So what should we eat for lung cancer patients? How should we eat? What are the precautions in diet?

First of all , you should eat less greasy food, meat, sugar, and beverages . Pickled food must be eaten after a certain period of time, otherwise it will contain a large amount of nitrite. Secondly, you should not eat too much spicy and fried food. In daily life, you should eat high-protein food, and eat more fruits and vegetables of various colors .

4. Indoor air pollution

With the continuous development of society and economy, people's needs are constantly increasing, and the demands on nature are constantly increasing, bringing more and more pollution to nature. Common ones include environmental pollution, atmospheric pollution, and air pollution. Common air pollution includes outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution. Outdoor pollution is mainly automobile exhaust, PM2.5, etc.

Related research shows that indoor pollution is one of the indispensable "culprits" for the high incidence of lung cancer . Indoor pollution is more harmful to people than air pollution. It can directly harm the human body and is very harmful and hidden. It mainly includes kitchen fume pollution, decoration material pollution , etc. In our lives, we must not ignore indoor pollution!

Indoor gas pollution can affect the respiratory system, change lung function, and cause adverse reactions such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, coughing, and expectoration . For example , indoor formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide released by gas combustion can cause airway inflammation, promote mucus secretion, cause airway narrowing, poor breathing, and induce asthma and bronchitis .

In addition, when decorating a new house, a lot of harmful gases will be released from the materials used . If the house is not ventilated in time and people move in too early, these harmful gases will enter the lungs with their breathing, damage lung cells , cause cell degeneration, disobey the body's instructions, grow recklessly, and eventually cause cancer.

In addition to the above reasons, what other causes are there for lung cancer? Some people say that chronic inflammation can also cause cancer. Studies in recent years have shown that about 20% of cancers are caused by the stimulation of long-term chronic inflammation. The most common ones are as follows:

If chronic hepatitis B is not treated promptly and effectively, it will gradually develop into liver cancer.

If a patient has long-term stomach problems, chronic atrophic gastritis, or is infected with Helicobacter pylori, he must be alert to the occurrence of gastric cancer!

In addition, attention should also be paid to chronic inflammation of the lungs. Long-term inflammatory stimulation can easily induce gene mutations and greatly increase the risk of cancer.

In addition to the above factors, the emergence and growth of cancer cells are also affected by other factors, such as emotions, genetics, etc. As we all know, the emergence of lung cancer means that the lung function is decompensated and the body is no longer healthy.

Some patients with early-stage lung cancer are unaware of it and do not have typical symptoms. Clinically, lung cancer actually has traces that can be traced. As cancer cells slowly grow, they will always reveal their signs.

So in daily life, what can we use to judge whether our lungs are normal?

2. 4 symptoms that appear in the body in the early stage of lung cancer

In the early stages of lung disease, symptoms are often mild or severe, and the degree of manifestation varies according to each person's physical differences. Some patients may be no different from normal people, while others may have corresponding symptoms. Don't be careless at this time, because you may have been infected!

First: Fingers become thicker

Healthy people have fingers of uniform thickness. When patients are in the early stages of lung cancer, their fingers become wider and thicker, and slowly bulge out and take on an arch shape. The tips of the fingers also begin to thicken . This is because when the lungs are diseased, blood cannot be delivered to the fingers normally, resulting in insufficient oxygen supply. If the fingers are in this state for a long time, they will become thicker, forming a common symptom - clubbing. When testing a routine blood test, it will also be found that the white blood cell count exceeds the normal value.

Therefore, if you feel that your fingers suddenly become thicker in daily life, or see similar situations, you must not ignore it, but go to the hospital in time, consult a doctor, undergo examination, and determine the cause.

Second: chest pain and chest tightness

According to relevant statistics: about half of the patients can feel lung discomfort in the early stages .

Lung cancer causes chest pain because: cancer cells grow fast, slowly grow in the body, and directly stimulate the pleura and some tissues, or bone metastasis occurs in the late stage, and cancer cells spread to the bones and muscles of the chest wall, causing an uncomfortable symptom. It may also be because the tumor is too large, blocking the respiratory tract, causing lung inflammation, and stimulating nerves, causing the patient to feel chest pain.

The initial symptoms vary depending on the tissues invaded by cancer cells. Chest pain is often fixed at the site of the lesion, changes with body position, and is aggravated by coughing.

The patient may experience chest tightness because: cancer cells metastasize through lymph nodes, causing compression of the surrounding trachea or bronchi, making breathing difficult. Or cancer cells may involve the pleura, inducing pleural effusion. Another possibility is that lung cancer patients have a poor appetite and hypoproteinemia, inducing pleural effusion on both sides, so they may experience chest tightness and shortness of breath .

Third: Coughing and coughing up blood

Many diseases around us are actually accompanied by coughing symptoms, which is very common. Coughing is also one of the earliest typical symptoms of lung cancer patients . It is usually paroxysmal and irritating. At this time, most patients feel that they can't cough up and always feel that there is phlegm.

Some patients also present with dry cough and no sputum . If secondary infection occurs, it will be accompanied by thick sputum , etc. This situation usually lasts for a long time and is difficult to cure.

When the cancerous tissue in the body invades the bronchial mucosa, the patient will cough up blood . In the early days, coughing up blood was intermittent and the amount was small, which was not easy to attract people's attention. However, when this happens, it often means that the condition has worsened further.

Fourth: Shoulder pain

Shoulder pain is often more easily ignored, especially for some people who do hard labor. They may think that the work is too tiring, causing shoulder periarthritis, or that it is caused by excessive muscle load.

In fact, the shoulder pain caused by lung cancer is because the cancer cells metastasize to the scapula, destroying and irritating the periosteum, affecting the joints, stimulating the nerves, and inducing pain .

Or it could be that cancer cells are invading the outside, compressing nerves and blood vessels, causing pain. Another possibility is that cancer cells are invading the pleura, causing radiating pain , etc. These situations can cause shoulder discomfort.

In addition, the location of shoulder pain varies depending on the site of invasion by cancer cells. Left-sided lung cancer generally causes left shoulder pain, while right-sided lung cancer may cause right shoulder discomfort.

When you experience the above symptoms repeatedly, do not be careless. This is most likely your lungs reminding you that it is in danger. Check it out as soon as possible. The earlier the treatment, the better the effect!

Each of us hopes to be healthy and to protect our bodies, we should not only pay attention to the signals the body sends us, but also focus on prevention.

3. How can we prevent lung cancer and reduce its incidence in our daily lives?

First of all, I think people should go to the hospital for a full body check-up regularly. Especially for those who have been smoking for a long time, overeating, and have bad eating or behavioral habits, they should always be vigilant, change bad habits, quit smoking and drinking, and eat healthily.

Secondly, we should strengthen the learning and understanding of relevant knowledge, and go to the hospital in time if we feel unwell. We must not be shy about seeing a doctor, and we must not be careless, so as not to miss the best time for treatment.

We only have one life, and there is no chance of a second chance. Please cherish your life. When we feel uncomfortable in life, we must be vigilant, consult professionals in time, listen carefully to the doctor's advice, complete relevant examinations, be responsible for ourselves and our families!

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