Lung cancer

We have two lungs and they are part of the body´s breathing system, also called the respiratory system. When we breathe, oxygen is transported through our nose and mouth and down the windpipe (trachea). The windpipe is split into two airways (called bronchus), one on each side in our chest, delivering oxygen to the lung on the right side and on the left side. The lungs are not identical on both sides. The right lung is the largest and is divided into 3 sections called lobes (the upper, middle and lower lobes) whereas the left lung has only got 2 sections (the upper and lower lobes). As well as transferring oxygen into the blood stream when we breathe in, the lungs have a second job of expelling carbon dioxide out of the blood and out of our bodies when we breathe out. A lung cancer is a cancer that started in the lung, - called a primary lung cancer. If a cancer has started somewhere else in the body and then spread to the lungs it is a secondary cancer and is NOT a lung cancer. This is a very important difference because cancers are treated according to the original cells that exist in the organ where the cancer first started growing. This section relates to cancer that has started in the lung — primary lung cancer. If you are looking for information about a cancer that has spread to the lung from another part of the body, you must look in the section for cancer of that particular body part / organ. Although there are other risk factors for developing lung cancer, the biggest cause of lung cancer is smoking. There are two main types of lung cancer (small cell and non-small cell lung cancers) and you may want to find out more about a specific type.

To help you find answers to some of your questions, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about lung cancer. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of very effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 13 July 2017