Beware of breathing! All you need to know about Lung Cancer.

What is that something that you do every second of your life? 

Breathe!   
Without this action it is impossible to survive. 

This breathing action is done with the help of the lungs and it is the most active organ of the human body. It is very essential to maintain its health at all times. Knowing what you inhale in your everyday lifestyle is important. An unhealthy lung leads to many infections and also Cancer. Lung infections are curable but not Cancer. It is always better to prevent than to cure any disease.

Lung Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in one or both of the lungs. These cells or tumors reduce the lung’s ability to provide bloodstream with oxygen.

A total number of 1,370,000 people have died of lung cancer which is more than the number of deaths caused by any other type of cancer. 

 

Some important facts:

• Lung Cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer around the globe.  
•  Most people die of Lung Cancer compared to other type of Cancer such has breast,colon and prostate Cancer. 
• Smoking is responsible for 90% of all cases of Lung cancer. 
•  More than half of the Lung Cancer patients pass away within a year of diagnosis. 
• Passive smoking increases the chances of Lung Cancer for about 20-30%

What are the causes and symptoms of Lung Cancer?

 

Causes:

• Smoking causes Cancer, smoking kills.
•  Exposure to tobacco smoke or passive smoking increases the chance of lung cancer.
•  Air pollution also causes Lung cancer. Air containing carcinogens and exposure to this increases the risk. 
• Smoke coming out of burning coal contains carcinogens is a significant risk of developing Lung Cancer. 
• Low intake of foods rich in beta-carotene.

Symptoms: 

• Loss in appetite and reduction in body weight. 
• Cough that does not quit. 
• Feeling weak or tiredness. 
• Chest pain which gets intense when coughing, laughing or heavy breathing. 
• Abnormal changes in loudness of the voice. 
• Shortness of breath.
• Coughing Blood.

Treatment for Lung Cancer:

 

 The treatment for this Cancer depends upon the type of lung cancer that the person is diagnosed with. The tumor is located and the stage of the cancer is identified. General health of the patient is also taken in consideration.

Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are common treatments used for lung cancer. These treatments are used alone or together.  

Home remedies: 

The patient experiences shortness of breath. To cope up with this there are few tips:

• Choose an activity such has music or meditation or any other activity that help you to relax. Fear makes it only harder to breathe. 

    

• Use your energy effectively. Save your energy for important tasks. Remove the non-essential tasks from your day.

      

• When you are in shortage of breath focus your mind on breathing.

                    

 Some other useful tips:

• Do not dehydrate your body. Take small sips of water frequently in a day. 
• Dry ginger or ginger-tea to reduce nausea. 
• Brush your teeth after you vomit which help to avoid tooth decay. 
• To have a good sleep avoid caffeine.

Tips for treating Constipation:

• Drink enough fluids to keep you hydrated. 
• Avoid alcohol containing drinks. 
• Increase your physical activity by exercise as advised by the doctor.

Thanks for reading and please keep visiting our blog to discover and appreciate more Yoddhas. 
Feel free to contact the Yoddhas team at team@yoddhas.com 

Lastly,

Praise the Yoddhas; Support the Yoddhas ; Love the Yoddhas!

Cheers!

Author- Akshith Vijaykumar

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer that affects the blood stem cells. It is a rapid-growing cancer of the blood and the bone marrow. In AML, the white blood cells (WBCs) do not develop completely but multiply in large number. These immature WBCs crowd the bone marrow, preventing it from making normal red blood cells and platelets that body needs. This causes the body lose its immunity and making more it vulnerable to disease.

Causes and Risk factors:

It happens when the DNA of the developing cells in bone marrow is damaged but the cause for this damage is unknown.

There are some factors which may increase your chances in getting AML.
                                               

Please note that having one or more risk factors does not mean you will 100% get AML. People with no such factors have also developed AML. The following is only a guide to say what may cause and may lower the risk of developing.

• Smoking: The most common cause for any cancer is smoking. It increases the chances by double or triple but decreases if you stop it.

                                               

• Chemotherapy: Patients who have had the treatment for chemotherapy have slightly increased risk that may lead to AML many years later. The risk chance decreases as time passes since the treatment.

                      

• Electromagnetic Radiation: There are some studies which show that exposure to high levels of EMR may increase the risk. This is not conclusive as the cause might not be the exposure but some other factor because very few people are exposed to high level of radiation.

• Blood disorders: People with the blood disorder are most likely to develop AML than people without the disorder.

                                     

Treatment for AML:

The most typical treatment is chemotherapy. For some patients this treatment alone may bring long term remission where the patient is symptom free. But for others this may not suffice. These patients might need a bone marrow transplant in their early stage for a long-term remission or probably a cure.

Some of the patients of our support group have provided valuable information regarding the treatment for AML. It is as follows-

1. Positive feedback on BLK Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi.Name of the doctor-Dr Dharma director of Haemato Oncology.
2. One of our member’s parent has successfully undergone bone marrow transplant from Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre. The hospital also helps the patients in getting a match from the registries for stem cell transplant.
3. Tata Medical Center(TMC),Kolkatta  and Tata memorial Hospital(TMH), Mumbai are also a good option.

The above feedback is given by the members of our patients support community. Please take your choice wisely after reading 

Thanks for reading and please keep visiting our blog to discover and appreciate more Yoddhas. 
Feel free to contact the Yoddhas team at team@yoddhas.com 

Lastly,

Praise the Yoddhas; Support the Yoddhas ; Love the Yoddhas!

Cheers!

Author- Akshith Vijaykumar