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Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from starting, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer.
Different ways to prevent cancer are being studied, including:
Changing lifestyle or eating habits.
Avoiding things known to cause cancer.
Taking medicines to treat a precancerous condition or to keep cancer from starting.
KEY POINTS
Lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women.
Lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung.
The lungs are a pair of cone-shaped breathing organs in the chest. The lungs bring oxygen into the body as you breathe in. They release carbon dioxide, a waste product of the body’s cells, as you breathe out. Each lung has sections called lobes. The left lung has two lobes. The right lung is slightly larger, and has three lobes. A thin membrane called the pleura surrounds the lungs. Two tubes called bronchi lead from the trachea (windpipe) to the right and left lungs. The bronchi are sometimes also involved in lung cancer. Tiny air sacs called alveoli and small tubes called bronchioles make up the inside of the lungs.
Anatomy of the respiratory system showing the trachea, the right and left lungs and their lobes, and the bronchi. The lymph nodes and the diaphragm are also shown. Oxygen is inhaled into the lungs and passes through the alveoli (the tiny air sacs at the end of the bronchioles) and into the bloodstream (see inset), where it travels to the tissues throughout the body.
There are two types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
For more information about lung cancer, see the following:
Lung Cancer Screening
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment
Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment
Cigarette Smoking: Health Risks and How to Quit
Resource:https://www.cancer.gov/types/lung/patient/lung-prevention-pdq
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