Most lung cancers start in the lining of the bronchi and are thought to develop over a period of many years. There first may be areas of precancerous changes in the lung. These changes do not form a mass or tumor and cannot be seen on an x-ray and they do not cause symptoms. If these precancerous changes turn into true cancer, malignant cells begin to grow. The cancer cells may produce chemicals that cause new blood vessels to form nearby. These new blood cells nourish the cancer cells can continue to grow and form tumor large enough to seen on x-rays. Cancer cells can break away from the original tumor and spread to other parts this is called metastasis. Lung cancer is a life-threatening di

sease because it often spreads in this way even before x-rays can detect it.

Cancernet.nci.nih.gov/treatment.html

Doing this research paper made me look back at what my uncle went through. He had his entire left lung removed. He never really did get back to normal activities. He had an oxygen tank anywhere that he had to be. He had one at his house, his summerhouse, his job and even one for the train rides back and forth to work, just incase anything happened. He eventually started to have problems with his balance and fell often. The last time he fell was on a subway platform on his way to work. That was his last day at work two years ago. During his last year of life, they found cancer again in his brain and he had a craniotomy. After that he never did get better. He went into the hospital on Wednesday with pneumonia, and passed away that Sunday. The doctors said that at the time of his death he didn't have any cancer in his body.

Personal and medical history also comes into play with lung cancer. People who already have lung cancer have an increased risk of developing another lung cancer. Brothers, sisters and children of those who have had lung cancer may have a slightly higher risk of lung cancer themselves. It is difficult to say how much of this excess risk is due to inherited factors and how much is due to second hand smoke.

There are many risk factors for lung cancer. The most important factor is tobacco smoking. More than 80% of lung cancers are thought to be a result of smoking. The longer a person smokes and the more packs per day, the higher the risk. If person stops smoking before a cancer develops, the damaged lung tissue starts to gradually return to normal. After ten years an ex-smokers risk still doesn't compare to that ofaperson who never smoked. But the ex-smokers risk is still lower than those who continue to smoke. Nonsmokers who breathe in the smoke of others, second hand smoke, are also at an increased risk for lung cancer.

Nesbitt JC, Lee JS, Komacki R, Roth JA. Cancer of the lung. In: Holland JF, Bast RC Jr, Morton DL, Frei E III, Kufe DW, Weischselbaum RR, eds. Cancer Medicine. Baltimore, Md: Williams and Wilkins; 1997: 1723 - 1804.

Some common words found in the essay are:
MRI MRI, Cancer Society, NSCLC Sometimes, Lung Cancer, lung cancer, lung cancers, Williams Wilkins, cancer cells, Philadelphia PaLippincott-Raven, lymph nodes, medical history, cell lung, cell lung cancer, Staging Manual, Cancer Institute, JA Cancer, Weischselbaum RR, symptoms lung cancer, symptoms lung, cancer people, american cancer, lung removed, american cancer society, lung cancer people, diagnosed lung cancer,
Approximate Word count = 2284
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)