After the diagnosis of Pope Leo

The announcement that Pope Leo This came after he underwent surgery to remove a lung nodule that later turned out to be lung adenocarcinoma, which is the most common type of lung cancer.

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells within the lungs or bronchi as a result of genetic changes that lead to the proliferation of these cells and their transformation into malignant tumors. It is considered one of the most deadly types of cancer in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.5 million new cases of infection and 1.8 million deaths due to it will be recorded during the year 2022.

The most prominent symptoms

Lung cancer is known as a disease that may develop silently, as it usually does not cause obvious symptoms in its early stages, before signs begin to appear as the disease progresses.

The most prominent symptoms include a persistent cough, chest pain, coughing up blood, even in small quantities, hoarseness, shortness of breath, and wheezing.

When cancer spreads to other parts of the body, additional symptoms may appear such as bone pain, headache, weight loss for no apparent reason, loss of appetite, and swelling of the face or neck.

Its spread to the brain may also lead to dizziness, weakness and numbness in the extremities, balance disorders, and epileptic seizures, while its spread to the liver may cause yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). Other signs may also appear, such as swollen lymph nodes in the neck or above the collarbone.

Risk factors

Smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer, whether through smoking cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or hookahs.

Other risk factors include exposure to passive smoking, air pollution inside and outside homes, occupational exposure to materials such as asbestos, silica, and diesel exhaust, in addition to radon gas, some chronic lung diseases, and genetic factors.

Lung cancer screening

Conventional chest X-rays are not recommended as an effective method for diagnosing lung cancer. However, low-dose computed tomography (CT) is used for early detection of the disease in people at high risk of developing it, especially current and former smokers.

Studies have shown that this examination helps detect the disease in its early stages, which increases the chances of successful treatment and contributes to reducing the risk of death associated with the disease.

Treatment

Lung cancer treatment depends on the type and stage of the tumor and the patient's health condition, and may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.

In the early stages, surgical removal of the tumor is the primary treatment. Treatment may be used before surgery to help shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove, or after surgery to reduce the chances of the cancer coming back.