What You and Your Senior Need to Know about Lung Cancer

During Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November, it’s important for you and you’re senior to be alert for any signs that might point to lung cancer. The more that you know about this sometimes silent killer, the more on guard against it you can be.

Home Health Care in Alexandria VA: Lung Cancer

Risk Factors for Developing Lung Cancer

The biggest risk factors for developing lung cancer are of course smoking and secondhand smoke. After that, exposure to airborne pollutants and carcinogens are also a factor. If your elderly family member has a family history of lung cancer, that can make her more likely to develop lung cancer herself. Other risk factors can be at play as well, so it’s important to talk to her doctor about what could be a potential cause for your senior.

Symptoms to Watch for with Lung Cancer

Many different types of cancer can have some similar symptoms, like losing weight unexpectedly. With lung cancer, most of the symptoms are going to be related to lung pain, chest pain, and breathing problems. Having a cough that just won’t go away or coughing up blood in mucus can also be a big sign. If your elderly family member is finding herself short of breath, it’s worth having her doctor run tests to determine what’s going on.

Early Detection Can Make a Huge Difference

The earlier that your senior is diagnosed with lung cancer makes a big difference. As the disease progresses, it does more damage to your senior’s lungs and to her body. Her doctor might order x-rays or a CT scan initially. Her doctor might also take samples of any mucous that she coughs up. If her doctor suspects that lung cancer is highly probable, a biopsy might be next. This is when a small amount of lung tissue is examined in more detail to see if cancer cells are present.

Lifestyle Changes Can Also Make a Big Difference

One of the biggest lifestyle changes your senior can make in order to avoid lung cancer is to quit smoking and to avoid secondhand smoke. Limiting alcohol consumption and eating a healthier diet can also be important. Her doctor can give you and you’re senior some more specific changes to consider. It’s tough to make these kinds of changes overnight, so it might be a good idea to hire senior care providers who can help with meal preparation and other changes your elderly family member decides to make.

If you or your aging adult are noticing changes that make you suspect that she’s facing lung cancer, make sure that you talk to her doctor. Today’s testing and diagnostic tools can help your senior to rule out lung cancer at earlier stages than ever before. Early detection means that treatment can be more successful.

Are you or a loved-one considering Home Health Care in Alexandria, VA?  Please call the caring staff at Medical Professionals On Call today. Contact: 703-273-8818

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Michelle DeFilippis

I graduated with a BS degree and had been selling medical equipment to hospitals, clinics and technicians. More recently, a family member was diagnosed with dementia and we, as a family, realized we were not prepared t care for her. We were thrown into that whirlpool of hospital stays, 24/7 live-in care, skilled care, caring for mom ourselves and finally, now daily home care. This was such a stressful time that I started thinking there had to be other people, other families as overwhelmed and unprepared as we were.

Medical Professionals On Call has such a caring, professional staff who are available to step in with whatever level of care necessary for loved ones and to relieve you of that stress.

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