Pulmonary tumors are always regarded as a sign of lung cancer, but not all lung tumors can trigger lung cancer. Pulmonary tumors sometimes indicate the presence of lung cancer, but further examination is necessary for proper diagnosis.
Lung Tumor Overview
You often hear stories of someone who has tumors, but what exactly is the tumor? Tumors are a collection of tissues in the body consisting of abnormal body cells. In Latin, tumors mean a lump.
Naturally, the cells of the body will die and be replaced with new body cells. However, abnormal body cells will continue to accumulate and not die which eventually appears as a tumor.
Pulmonary tumors are tumors in the lung and are visible in the form of dots in the lungs during a CT scan or X-ray examination.
If you do not smo**ke, have a small tumor, and are under 40 years old, then most likely the tumor is benign or not a sign of early stage lung cancer.
Lung tumors can be benign, can also be malignant. This condition is important to be detected early so that the treatment success rate is higher.
During this time, many people mistaken against the definition of tumors. Some people consider tumors to be benign. There is more to believe tumors and cancer is the same thing. In fact, both benign and malignant terms depend on tumor properties.
It is said that a benign tumor is likely to grow slowly and not spread to other parts of the body. While malignant tumors tend to grow to invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body. This malignant Tumor is actually called cancer.
Lung Tumor Types
Pulmonary tumors are generally divided into two, namely benign pulmonary tumors and malignant lung tumors.
Benign pulmonary tumors
Benign pulmonary tumors can be caused by infection, localized fluid, inflammation.
With proper treatment, some benign pulmonary tumors can disappear perfectly. Therefore, it is often referred to as pseudotumor. In other cases, benign pulmonary tumors may persist and do not cause any symptoms.
Malignant lung tumors
Malignant lung tumors, commonly called bronchogenic Carcinoma, are generally divided into two, namely Non-small Cell Carcinoma and Small Cell Carcinoma. This division is important, because the Non-Small Cell Carcinoma Group in the early stage, surgical intervention can still be done.
Read also: Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma: 10 Causes, Symptoms, and Diagnosis and Test
Risk Factors
Smo**king
Smo**king is the main risk factor that causes lung tumors. More than 80 percent of lung tumors worldwide occurs due to smo**king habit. Hazardous substances in cigarettes can damage lung cells. As time goes by, these damaged cells can turn into tumors, even becoming cancerous. That is why smo**king cigarettes, pipes, or cigars can cause lung cancer.
Passive smo**ker
In addition, exposed to smoke can also cause lung tumors in non-smo**kers or passive smo**kers. The more often a person is exposed to cigarette smoke, the greater the risk of developing lung tumors.
Chemical substances
Other risk factors for lung tumors, among others, if one is a lot of inhale substances such as radon (a radioactive gas), asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, and air pollution.
Family history
People with a family history of pulmonary tumors also have a greater level of risk.
Disease history
People who have had a lung tumor have a greater risk of developing a second lung tumor.
Read also: Water in lungs: 7 causes, symptoms, How to prevent and Treat it
Is lung tumor curable?
For lung tumor disease can be cured, especially if it is found in early stages. This is due to the treatment and possible healing depending on the stage and the type of the cell. It’s good to ask a detailed explanation to the Doctor Who cares to know the type of cell and its stadium, the treatment plan and the possibility of recovery.