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Lung Cancer - Causes, Symptoms, Health Insurance Coverage

Benefits

​What Is Lung Cancer?


A person is diagnosed with cancer when his/ her body cells grow abnormally. When cells of lungs grow abnormally, this health condition is called lung cancer. Cancer can spread from the lungs to other parts of the body like the brain. Cancer from other body parts can also spread to the lungs. Lung cancer are of two types, small cell, and non-small cell. They both are treated differently. However, the non-small cell type of lung cancer is more common. 

Symptoms


Signs and symptoms of lung cancer are mentioned below:


  • Coughing for 2 to 3 weeks straight​
  • Continuous infection in chest 
  • Blood in cough
  • Wheezing
  • Pain while coughing or breathing 
  • Pain or ache while breathing or coughing
  • Breathlessness for longer time 
  • Always tired 
  • Drastic weight loss
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Pain while swallowing 
  • Swelling of face or neck
  • Pain in the shoulder or chest for a longer time

    • If you are facing any of the symptoms mentioned above, you should immediately book an appointment with your doctor.

    ​Diagnosis


    Your doctor will ask you questions regarding your medical history and symptoms. You should brief them in detail. The doctor will physically examine you and might ask you to breathe into a spirometer. This device measures the quantity of air breathed in and out. 

    Your doctor may ask you to go through the following tests: 

  • Chest X-ray: This is the first test that your doctor will ask for. However, this is not the most definitive diagnosis. Chest X-ray can’t distinguish between lung abscess and lung cancer. 
  • CT Scan: A CT scan helps your doctor enormously as it creates a detailed image of your body. Before the CT scan, you will be injected with a special dye, which is called a contrast medium. This dye helps in enhancing the quality of the images. It will only take 10 to 30 minutes.
  • PET-CT scan: A PET-CT or Positron Emission Tomography-Computerised Tomography scan helps doctors identifying where active cancer cells are in the lungs. You will be injected with a radioactive material before this scan. This test takes 30 to 60 minutes.
  • Bronchoscopy and biopsy: This process allows doctors to see the inside of your airways.

    • Treatment


    Treatment of lung cancer depends on the type. Small cell lung cancer can be treated with the help of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Along with these therapies, non-small cell lung cancer can also be treated with surgery or targeted therapy.

  • In surgical treatment, cancer tissues are cut out.
  • In chemotherapy, medications are given to shrink or kill cancer. 
  • In radiation therapy, X-rays are used to kill cancer.
  • In targeted therapy, medications are given to reduce the spread of cancer cells.

    • ​Health Insurance


    The cost of treatment of lung cancer is high. To get the proper treatment, you need financial support, and this support is given by health insurance plans. The financial coverage will take care of your medical expenses and hospitalization bills. You should ​buy critical illness health insurance​ cover as it provides comprehensive coverage for chronic diseases like lung cancer. The critical illness policy will give sum insured value as a lump sum amount on claim. With the help of a health insurance plan, you can get the best treatment at one of the many network hospitals of your insurer.