Understanding the Risks of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer claims more lives than prostate, pancreas, and breast cancers combined, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA).

November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM), where organizations such as the LCA brought focus onto lung cancer issues through fundraising events, distributing educational materials, organizing rallies, speaking with the media, and even lobbied Congressmen and women.

According to the LCA, lung cancer begins in the tissues of the lungs, the center of the body’s respiratory system. There are two main types of lung cancer:

  1. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, which is the most common; and
  2. Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Almost 85 percent of all lung cancer cases are non-small cell lung cancer, which grows and spreads at a slower rate than small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is named after the smaller than usual cancer cells which reproduce quickly to develop into large tumors. Smoking or second-hand smoke are causes of small cell lung cancer.

Symptoms of lung cancers may include coughing, fatigue, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, pain in the upper back or arm, repeated bronchitis or pneumonia, coughing up blood, hoarseness, and/or appetite loss. Anyone experiencing any of these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

If a physician is presented with these symptoms or simply a request to screen for lung cancer, he or she is responsible to order or perform certain diagnostic tests, and/or to refer the patient to another doctor for the required tests and screenings. If a physician fails to perform, order or refer a patient for the necessary tests, or is negligent in taking or heeding the significance of a patient’s medical history, then lung cancers may go undiagnosed or may be misdiagnosed. Additionally, lung cancers may progress undetected if a doctor fails to properly interpret test results including chest x-rays.

If you or a loved one has lung cancer that a negligent physician failed to properly or timely diagnose or misdiagnosed, contact the experienced New Jersey lung cancer misdiagnosis lawyers at Blume Forte to learn more about your legal rights and options, at 973-845-4421.

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