Cough and shortness of breath can be caused by many different conditions, but one dangerous condition that can cause cough and shortness of breath is lung cancer.
There are many different types of lung cancer, so let’s explain those different types of lung cancer and how to recognize them, and then let’s explain dangerous signs that indicate that the cancer has spread to other organs in the human body, such as the brain and the heart.
This video about lung cancer was created using anatomski.com, and if you’re a medical professional and you want to make a similar video, then you can use that website.
Different types of lung cancers appear on different locations. Small cell lung cancer usually appears more centrally. The adenocarcinoma, however, which belongs to the non-small cell lung cancers group appears in peripheral parts of the lung. The squamous cell carcinoma usually appears more centrally, just like the small cell lung cancer. And the large cell lung cancer appears in peripheral parts of the lungs as well, just like the adenocarcinoma of the lung. So lung cancers appear in different locations depending upon what type of lung cancer it is.
However, there are other symptoms and characteristics of these malignant diseases, and we will explain that in a minute. But first, there’s something that can always be done about lung cancer. You can do this and you can share this video so people with these symptoms that we are about to explain can see this video and recognize them.
The most aggressive type of lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, can be recognized by the presence of small blue cells upon a histological examination. Furthermore, it produces additional signs and symptoms that we should recognize. Small cell lung cancer, which often appears more centrally, can produce the ACTH hormone, which stands for adrenocorticotropic hormone. That hormone is normally produced by the pituitary gland in the human skull, and from there, it can stimulate the adrenal gland to produce cortisol.
This increase of cortisol is defined as Cushing’s syndrome, and Cushing’s syndrome has many symptoms such as development of stretch marks, increase of abdominal fat, and increased growth of facial hair even in females. So presence of Cushing’s syndrome symptoms, with cough and shortness of breath, could indicate that the patient suffers from a very aggressive type of cancer, small cell lung cancer.
However, if that’s not the case, then that’s great because it could be that the patient suffers from a less aggressive type of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma. That’s not really great, but in comparison with small cell lung cancer, it’s better.
Adenocarcinoma, which often appears in peripheral parts of the lung, can produce other symptoms besides coughing and shortness of breath. It often affects non-smokers, people who do not smoke, and additionally, it can cause clubbing of their fingers, where the tips of their fingers become rounded and enlarged. None of these symptoms are 100% specific, so to confirm the diagnosis upon a histological examination, we might discover glandular structures, and that is indicative of adenocarcinoma. And large cell carcinoma can be recognized by larger breasts, because it produces HCG hormone, which then increases the size of the patient’s breasts, the condition called gynecomastia.
Now there are some dangerous signs, which indicate that the cancer has spread from the lungs to distant organs such as bones, and that can cause bone pain. Now if the cancer has spread to the brain, we can expect to see headaches, confusion, and dizziness, as well as vomiting. Now you might ask, well, what does it matter? What’s the point in recognizing the symptoms now?
The cancer is already in the brain.
It does matter.
Recognizing these symptoms can help us plan the therapy better, and reduce pain and prolong life of the patient, prolong the patient’s life expectancy. That’s why maybe the most important thing about lung cancer, cough, and shortness of breath, is to be properly informed, and you can do that here, Symptomsky.com. But if you’re a medical student or a doctor and you want to make a video like this one, then go to anatomsky.com, and doctors and patients, everybody can subscribe to our channel.
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