MacKinnon,+R.

Ryan Mackinnon Wiki post #1 The genetics of lung cancer Thursday, December 1, 2016

Due to the amount of people that have had cancer in my family I have chosen to write about the most common type of cancer that runs in my family. Lung cancer. I am also writing about this because learning about genetic information and how hereditary diseases are passed scared the shit out of me.

Lung cancer is a malignant tumour that starts in the cells of the lung. Malignant means that it can spread. There are two types of lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer usually starts in the bronchi that is in the middle of your lungs. Non-small cell lung cancer starts on the outer part of the lung in glandular cells. Small-cell lung cancer is more aggressive, meaning it can spread quickly to other parts of the body early in the disease. It is mainly from cigarette use and is rare in nonsmokers. Non-small-cell lung cancer grows more slowly and is more common. It's responsible for almost 85% of all lung cancers.
 * What is lung cancer?**

media type="youtube" key="xJCtQ9pf4aM" width="560" height="315"

The picture above is a simple representation of what lung cancer looks like. Most people would think darker lungs (smoker lungs) would have lung cancer but that’s not always the case.

Some people get mutations of the cells from their parents that increase their risk for developing certain cancers. Even though inherited mutations are not thought to be a main cause of lung cancer, it can still play a role in the development of the cancer. Most of the time, the cancer cells are triggered with the inhalation of smoke or other poisonous gases.
 * How can you get lung cancer?**

Below are a few signs and symptoms of the early stages of lung cancer.
 * Signs and symptoms**
 * A cough that does not go away or gets worse.
 * Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm)
 * Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing.
 * Hoarseness.
 * Weight loss and loss of appetite.
 * Shortness of breath.
 * Feeling tired or weak.[[image:lung c.jpg]]


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