You may wonder why a female or woman has lung cancer. Well, the sad truth is that cancer doesn’t discriminate. Lung cancer in females occurs when there’s an abnormal growth of deadly tumors in their lungs that can cause harm to other body parts.
Most Americans are victims of the second most fatal cancer that has killed many women worldwide. Roughly 1 in 17 women may have it throughout their life.
Types Of Lung Cancer
Many kinds of lung cancer exist, but let’s focus on the two main ones:
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): This kind of lung cancer affects nonsmokers, and it’s the reason for approximately 85% of lung cancers globally. NSCLC is divided into lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. These parts contain several features.
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC): This kind of lung cancer affects smokers. It used to be prominent years ago, and it’s the reason for approximately 10%–15% of lung cancers globally.
Moreover, carcinoid tumors, which gradually develop and affect nonsmokers, comprise 1%–2% of lung tumors and are common in younger women.
Causes Of Lung Cancer In Females
Sometimes, women are responsible for having lung cancer; however, environmental factors can also play a role.
- Smoking can easily give women lung cancer, making nonsmokers safe to an extent. It could also include smoking tobacco and other cigarettes. However, if nonsmokers are amid cigarettes, they can also get lung cancer.
- Another factor that can cause lung cancer in women is radon. Spending more time indoors in a radon environment is dangerous.
- If there’s a genetic change in a woman, it can also cause lung cancer. Also, it can be inherited from parent to offspring.
- When an area’s air is polluted with toxic gases from factories, vehicles, etc., it can cause lung cancer in women when inhaled regularly.
- Women working in the mining, construction, and manufacturing industries can get lung cancer through carcinogens such as asbestos, diesel exhaust, and other deadly substances.
Symptoms Of Lung Cancer In Females
Many symptoms will emerge related to lung cancer, and they can cause discomfort to the victim. Women with this disease can show the following signs:
- Consistent chronic cough, which can include blood.
- Chest, back, and shoulder pain.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Hoarse voice.
- Wheezing.
- Tiredness.
- Sudden weight loss.
- Frequent respiratory infections.
- Neck or face swelling.
Prevention Of Lung Cancer In Females
You can prevent this disease and live healthily through the following ways:
- Avoid smoking and cut any relationship with anyone who encourages you to smoke—instead, advise them to stop it.
- Even if you want to dissuade other smokers from smoking, ensure you do it when they aren’t smoking because secondhand smoking can also give you lung cancer. So avoid any environment with smokers in action.
- Ensure you don’t stay in homes that have more radon. If you do, ensure you find ways to avoid vulnerability.
- Keep exercising and eating the proper diet because it can help prevent the disease.
What Are The Treatments For Lung Cancer In Females?
If the worst comes and you can’t prevent it well enough, the last option is to treat it. However, you must consider the stage and kind of cancer involved, as well as your well-being.
The following are treatment options available.
- Your healthcare provider can treat early-stage lung cancer through surgery.
- You may receive radiation therapy that can eliminate the cancer cells.
- If the cancer has progressed to affecting other body parts, your healthcare provider may suggest chemotherapy options like paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and pemetrexed medicines to kill the cancer cells.
- You may also receive targeted therapy to use medicines like crizotinib, gefitinib, erlotinib, etc., to protect normal cells and kill cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy is another option that gives you medications that will enhance your immune system to kill cancer cells
- Your healthcare provider can also provide palliative care to teach you how to cope with symptoms, get treatment, and become healthy.
Conclusion
Lung cancer is equally severe in women because it is a respecter of no one if you don’t know how to prevent it or treat it. Therefore, we should identify its causes, such as smoking and environmental factors, and prevent it with lifestyle changes.
If things get worse, then treating it via surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and palliative care will do more good than harm, depending on the stage and kind of cancer involved.
