Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells. Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and the second most common in women,[1][2] is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually.

What causes lung cancer?

Smoking
The incidence of lung cancer is strongly correlated with cigarette smoking, with about 90% of lung cancers arising as a result of tobacco use. The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over time; doctors refer to this risk in terms of pack-years of smoking history (the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years smoked).

Lung cancer most commonly begins in the cells that line your lungs. Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers — both in smokers and in people exposed to secondhand smoke. But lung cancer also occurs in people who never smoked. In these cases, there may be no clear cause of lung cancer. Doctors have identified factors that may increase the risk.

Cancer that originates from lung cells is called a primary lung cancer. Primary lung cancer can start in the airways that branch off the trachea to supply the lungs (the bronchi) or in the small air sacs of the lung (the alveoli). Cancer may also spread (metastasize) to the lung from other parts of the body (most commonly from the breasts, colon, prostate, kidneys, thyroid gland, stomach, cervix, rectum, testes, bone, or skin).

Lung Cancer Symptoms
Lung cancer symptoms are commonly not experienced until the disease had advanced, sometimes delaying diagnosis. The symptoms of lung cancer also mimic the symptoms of other benign illnesses.

The most common lung cancer symptoms experienced are:

Onset of wheezing

Recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis
A sign is also an indication that something is not right in the body. But signs are defined as things that can be seen by a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional. Fever, rapid breathing rate, and abnormal breathing sounds heard through a stethoscope may be signs of pneumonia.

Lung Cancer Diagnosis
To help find the cause of symptoms, your doctor will evaluate your medical history, smoking history, exposure to environmental and occupational substances, and family history of cancer. Your doctor also will perform a physical exam and may recommend a chest X-ray and other tests. If lung cancer is suspected, sputum cytology — the microscopic examination of cells obtained from a deep-cough sample of mucus in the lungs — is a simple test that may be useful in detecting lung cancer. To confirm the presence of lung cancer, your doctor must examine tissue.

How can I prevent lung cancer?
The best way to prevent lung cancer is to quit smoking, or to never start in the first place. You should try and avoid being around people who are smoking; and also avoid pipes, cigars, and marijuana. Use a detector to make sure the radon levels are low.

Treatment of Lung Cancer
Many factors must be taken into account to determine the best treatment for an individual diagnosed with lung cancer. The specific type of cell, the location of the lung tumor, the stage of the disease with possible metastasis (spread to other parts of the body), and the general health of the individual must be considered. Various treatment plans may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or surgery.

The leading risk factor for lung cancer is smoking. More than 80% of lung cancers are due to cigarette smoking. The longer a person has been smoking and also the more cigarettes a person smokes a day, the greater the risk is for developing lung cancer. Not only are smokers vulnerable to lung cancer, but the people around them are at a greater risk as well due to breathing second-hand smoke. Non-smokers who are married to smokers are at a 30% greater risk than non-smokers who are married to non-smokers. Marijuana cigarettes may also increase the risk of lung cancer since they contain many of the same cancer-causing agents that tobacco cigarettes have and are inhaled more deeply.

Lung cancer most commonly begins in the cells that line your lungs. Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers — both in smokers and in people exposed to secondhand smoke. But lung cancer also occurs in people who never smoked. In these cases, there may be no clear cause of lung cancer. Doctors have identified factors that may increase the risk.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also increase risk.

Causes of Lung Cancer
Smoking: smoking remains the greatest risk factor for lung cancer. Your risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day and the number of years you have smoked. Quitting at any age can significantly lower your risk of developing lung cancer.

Diet: Scientists are studying many different foods to see how they may change the risk of getting lung cancer. However, any effect diet may have on lung cancer risk is small compared with the risk from smoking. Eating a lot of fat and cholesterol might increase risk of lung cancer. Drinking a lot of alcohol may raise risk as well.

Family History: Studies have found a chromosome that may be responsible for lung cancer. The chromosome can be inherited. If you have had lung cancer before, there is a chance you may develop another type of lung cancer.

Air pollution from vehicles, industry, and power plants can raise the likelihood of developing lung cancer in exposed individuals. Up to 1% of lung cancer deaths are attributable to breathing polluted air, and experts believe that prolonged exposure to highly polluted air can carry a risk similar to that of passive smoking for the development of lung cancer.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer
People often decide to visit the doctor only after they have been bothered by certain complaints over a period of time. Individuals who have lung cancer frequently experience symptoms such as the following:

Metastasis to the bones is most common with small cell type cancers but also occurs with other lung cancer types. Lung cancer that has metastasized to the bone causes bone pain, usually in the backbone (vertebrae), the thighbones, and the ribs.

Shortness of breath usually results from a blockage to the flow of air in part of the lung, collection of fluid around the lung (pleural effusion), or the spread of tumor throughout the lungs.

Chest pain is a symptom in about one-fourth of people with lung cancer. The pain is dull, aching, and persistent and may involve other structures surrounding the lung.

Wheezing or hoarseness may signal blockage or inflammation in the lungs that may go along with cancer.

When you breathe in, air passes from your nose or mouth through the windpipe (trachea), which divides into two tubes (airways), one going to each lung. These are known as the right and left bronchus and they divide to form smaller tubes called bronchioles, which carry air through the lungs. At the end of the bronchioles are millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli. In the alveoli, oxygen is absorbed from air breathed in and passes into the bloodstream to be circulated around the body.

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. The lungs are a pair of cone-shaped organs situated inside the chest; they bring oxygen into the body and take out waste carbon dioxide. There is a strong link between smoking and lung cancer. There are two main categories of lung cancer; Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). World-wide over 1 million people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year.

Sometimes the instructions to a cell go haywire and that cell and its offspring reproduce wildly, without regard for the shape and function of a lung. That wild reproduction can form tumors that clog up the lung and make it stop functioning as it should. Because of the large size of the lungs, cancer may grow for many years, undetected, without causing suspicion. Lung cancer can spread outside the lungs without causing any symptoms. Adding to the confusion, the most common symptom of lung cancer, a persistent cough, can often be mistaken for a cold or bronchitis.

The main types of lung cancer are small cell lung carcinoma and non-small cell lung carcinoma. This distinction is important because the treatment varies; non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is sometimes treated with surgery, while small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) usually responds better to chemotherapy and radiation. The most common cause of lung cancer is long term exposure to tobacco smoke. The occurrence of lung cancer in non-smokers, who account for fewer than 10% of cases, appears to be due to a combination of genetic factors, radon gas, asbestos, and air pollution, including second-hand smoke.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also increase risk.

Cancer of the lung, like all cancers, results from an abnormality in the body's basic unit of life, the cell. Normally, the body maintains a system of checks and balances on cell growth so that cells divide to produce new cells only when needed. Disruption of this system of checks and balances on cell growth results in an uncontrolled division and proliferation of cells that eventually forms a mass known as a tumor.

Yet most lung cancer deaths could be prevented. That's because smoking accounts for nearly 90 percent of lung cancer cases. Your risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes you smoke. If you quit smoking, even after smoking for many years, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing lung cancer. Protecting yourself from other risk factors for lung cancer, such as exposure to asbestos, radon and secondhand smoke, also decreases your risk.

Breast cancer is a serious disorder that attacks women. It is a disease that women dread about. In medical terms, this disease can be defined as a formation of malignant or cancer cells in the breast tissues.

The disease has been termed as heterogeneous. This means that it is a different disease that appears and forms differently in different women of different age groups. Younger women are said to be more vulnerable to this disease.

This disease can be cured if detected early. This is the reason that young women are advised to carry out a self-examination for any kind of lungs inside their breast every three to six months. They should also go for a medical examination in every six months.

When failed to detect, this disease can result in to some real threatening stages. In certain severe and final stages of breast cancer, women are advised to go for a breast removal surgery or masectomy. This is really dreadful moment in a woman life.

Fortunately, this disease can be treated successfully if detected early. Hence, it is very important to learn about the symptoms of breast cancer and keep tabs on any of the warning signs that may hit our body anytime.

Here are some potential breast cancer symptoms to help you learn about this disease and detect it on time in a better and effective way.

- The warning sings
Usually, breast cancer does not carry any pain. However, a woman is still advised to visit her health care practitioner on a regular basis to know about the development of the disease in her body.

Common symptoms

a) Change in breast and nipple feel
You may suddenly experience tenderness of nipple or even a lump or thickening near the breast or underarm area without any specific reason.

b) Change in the appearance of breast or nipple
This means that there is a change in the shape or the size of the breast or a nipple. The nipple may appear scaly, read, swollen, turn slightly inward or contain ridges or pitting similar to the skin of an orange.

c) Nipple discharge
Sometimes, you may also experience nipple discharge. The discharge may be clear or bloody.

d) Pain
You may sometimes feel pain in the nipple.

e) Swelling
Women with breast cancer can even observe swelling or mass inside the arm pit.

f) Lump
A lump near the arm pit or breast is a clear indication of breast cancer.

g) Rash
You would find a rash on a nipple or the surrounding area.

All the above mentioned signs and symptoms are an indication that you may be suffering from breast cancer.

However, there are several other ways to detect breast cancer such as self examination. You can conduct a self examination at your home. Just inspect your breasts for any lumps or swelling, changes in contour of each breast, dimpling of skin or changes in the nipples.

Remember that early detection of this disease is the only way to cure it. You need to focus on the signs and symptoms of this disease in order to detect it. Watch out for the symptoms and be safe.

The first step to a cancer cure - did you know that the single most important thing to get right when you're diagnosed with cancer is your thoughts? Your mindset.

Why?
Because many people believe that cancer is a death sentence. But that's simply not true. Certainly people do die from cancer - there's no doubt.

But have you ever stoped to consider that your thoughts play a huge role in the outcome? Have you ever considered that your thoughts may even have contributed to your cancer?

Let me tell you about what happened to me. A dozen years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. For years before my diagnosis, I kept telling my wife "maybe I have leukaemia or something?" And I kept saying this over and over again.

Then it happened - I was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. Well, I was pretty close wasn't I? Leukaemia and lymphoma are both forms of blood cancer.

So, now the question arises. Did I give myself lymphoma cancer by constantly verbalizing and repeating the same negative thoughts? I truly believe so. And I think many people would agree with me.

Can positive thoughts be the key to the first step to a cancer cure?
I'm still alive today because I believed I'd beat cancer. Your thoughts are vitally important. When you understand how your mind works you are better able to change it. And change it for the better - change it to serve you.

Your mind is made up of two parts. The conscious mind which is your intellect. And the subconscious mind which is the feeling part of you - your emotions.

Most of us would associate the conscious mind with our head. We would also associate the subconscious mind with our head, but this is incorrect. Your subconscious mind resides in every single cell of your body.

Your mindset is extremely important because it is the first step to your cancer cure. What you think (conscious) impacts on the way you feel (subconscious). And what you feel has a direct affect on your body.

For years, I kept thinking I would get seriously ill. I kept repeating this over and over. My conscious mind believed the thought and this was transferred into my subconscious.

My subconscious mind then set about carrying out my wishes(?!) and affected every cell in my body - I manifested cancer.

So, what you think affects the way you feel. This, in turn, causes you to do or act in certain ways or to get certain results. Put simply, what you think affects what you get.

What you need to do is take control of your thoughts because now you understand that what you think directly impacts what you get. Don't be controlled by your thoughts.

Much of what you think comes from what you believe. Many of your beliefs are ingrained-we all have an existing belief system that started way back in childhood.

How?
As children we believed everything our parents told us. Then we believed everything our childhood peers told us. Then, ...... you get the picture.

We never learned to question.
It has been my experience that most of my limitations were put upon me - not by others, but by me. Me! Not because I wanted to, or even meant too. But I simply wasn't aware that I was doing this. You see, if you hear the same things over and over you begin to believe them without question.

So, what you need to do is use your analytical conscious mind to help you cure cancer. Decide for yourself what you believe. Question everything you hear - inside and outside of your head.

Ask yourself, about your thoughts and beliefs - do these serve me?
Let me give you an example. How often have you heard yourself say "I can't do that" or "that won't work for me!"

Do these thoughts serve you? Do they really help you?
No, they don't. Like me, these are most likely limitations you have put upon yourself. And they aren't based on your reality. They're a figment of somebody else's imagination.

Question all the negative thoughts that you have. Ask yourself "Do these thoughts serve me?" And if they don't serve you, then ask yourself "What thoughts would serve me?"

When you control your thoughts you begin to change your mind set and your life. Replace negative thoughts with better thoughts, so that you build a storehouse of thoughts that serve you.

Better thoughts do exist. Think about them and you will find them. If you can't find any better thoughts, you're not looking hard enough. Try again.

It's worth the effort because you are worth the effort. Start with a good thought and begin your own cancer cure today.

Thyroid cancer is a fairly common malignancy which can occur in any age group especially in people who have had radiation therapy in the neck area, although it is most common after age 30 and its aggressiveness increases significantly in older patients. Thyroid cancer develops in your thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adams apple.

Types of Thyroid Cancer
Thyroid cancers are divided into papillary carcinomas, follicular carcinomas, medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTCs), anaplastic carcinomas, primary thyroid lymphomas, and primary thyroid sarcomas.

Papillary tumours account for half of all thyroid cancers in adults, it is most common in young adult females. Follicular carcinomas are less common but more likely to recur and metastasize to the regional nodes and through blood vessels into the bones, liver and lungs. Medullary carcinoma is a rare familial cancer which is completely curable if detected before it causes symptoms. The least common type of thyroid cancer is anaplastic which has a very poor prognosis. Anaplastic thyroid cancer tends to be found after it has spread and is not cured in most cases

Causes of Thyroid Cancer
Predisposing factors include; radiation exposure, prolonged thyroid stimulating hormone exposure, familial predisposition and chronic goiter.

Signs and Symptoms
The primary signs of thyroid tumors are: a painless nodule, a lump or swelling in the neck sometimes growing rapidly, a pain in the front of the neck sometimes going up to the ears, hoarseness or other voice changes that do not go away, trouble swallowing, breathing problems, a cough that continues and is not due to a cold.

Diagnosis
The first clue is usually an enlarged palpable nodule in the thyroid gland, neck, lymph nodes of the neck, or vocal chords. Thyroid scans measure the ability of the nodules to trap isotopes in comparison to the rest of the thyroid. Other tests include CT scans, biopsy and ultrasonic scans.

Treatment
Treatment options may include surgery to remove the thyroid gland and nearby lymph nodes, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy. Anaplastic cancer patients often require a tracheostomy during the treatment and treatment is much more aggressive than for other types of thyroid cancer.

Radioactive Iodine is given to the patient with thyroid cancer after their cancer has been removed because if there are any thyroid cancer cells remaining in the body then these cells will absorb and concentrate the radioactive poisonous iodine.

Prognosis
The survival rate for patients with papillary tumors which have not spread is excellent.
Medullary cancer of the thyroid is significantly less common, but has a worse prognosis.

Breast cancer symptoms can be experienced by men as well as women but breast cancer is very rare in men compared to women. More than 1 in 10 women are likely to suffer from breast cancer symptoms, and be diagnosed with breast cancer, in a lifetime. Breast cancer symptoms can be detected when a lump, tumor, or cyst grows large enough to either be felt or seen on a mammogram. Breast cancer symptoms don’t often manifest themselves until the cancer is already in its later stages of growth, and may have already metastasized to other more vital areas of the body. Breast cancer symptoms are often subtle, and self discovery can be elusive. Due to the high incidence of breast cancer among older women, screening is now recommended in many countries.

Lumps or masses in the breast are not unusual, and most of them are not cancerous. Some breast masses can be felt during a breast exam.

Lump may form in the breast, chest or under the arm if the cancer is in the breast or near the chest wall. You will also notice a change in the size, shape and skin of the breast.

Earlier the diagnosis of breast cancer always involved the removal of the breast and the surrounding skin, muscles underneath the breast and the lymph nodes underneath the arm. Today’s method of diagnosis is well advanced without the above mentioned procedure radical mastectomy.

Among young women, a lump that moves may be a sign of fibrocystic breast disease. Generally, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. Generally a lump that is cancerous will not be tender to the touch, it will be hard, non-movable, and not change rapidly in size (within several days or weeks). If a lump is tender, it could be a cyst or a swollen lymph node. Genetic counseling and genetic testing should be considered for families who may carry a heritidary form of cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer, which includes the breast being warm, red, and swollen.The inflammation occurs because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast . Breast cancer is a common disease. Each year, approximately 200,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer, and one in nine American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer occurs much more commonly in women and fewer than 1 in 100 of breast cancers occur in men. In the UK, approximately 250 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast. The breast tissue covers an area larger than just the breast.

Women with one of these defects have up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer sometime during their life. Women who attend Infinite Boundaries retreats are in all stages of breast cancer. The more you drink, the greater your risk

Women had limited knowledge of their relative risk of developing breast cancer, of associated risk factors and of the diversity of potential breast cancer-related symptoms. Older women were particularly poor at identifying symptoms of breast cancer, risk factors associated with breast cancer and their personal risk of developing the disease. Women, sometimes, have lumps in their breasts which have been there for a lifetime. They’re usually harmless fibroids, and never conclusively mean you’ve developed breast cancer. Women are very conscious about their breast care. Beautiful and healthy breast are one of the most cherished dream of women.