According to different surveys that have been carried out over the population of America, it’s seen that the number of people suffering from cancer is about 220,000. The American cancer society also supports this diagnosis of 2010. There are two types of lung cancer that the people suffer from. One is the small cell lung cancer and the other is the non small cell lung cancer. There have been quite a few deaths because of cancer as well. In fact it is noticed that deaths due to lung cancer is more than the death of colon and breast cancer taken together.

Though lung cancers are quite prevalent around the world but it is less thought of and recognized. There are very few people who know about non small cell lung cancer. It is very hard to recognize the disease at its initial stage, from the symptoms. However, a patient who has been diagnosed with the same would need to seek medical attention, as soon as they can.

How cancer develops? When we breathe, the air travels down our windpipe, which is know as the trachea. This trachea separates into bronchi and further into bronchus and bronchioles. At each bronchiole end there are sacs which are called alveoli. Lung cancer appears at the inside walls of the bronchi. Initially, there are no symptoms to be seen. However, as time progresses and the cancerous cells grow, symptoms start to appear. At the same time, tumor forms.

At the beginning of the tumor, the mass of the cells of the cancer is too small to be diagnosed under x-rays. Non small cell lung cancer, which is one of the types of lung cancer present, has several categories under it. One is the large cell carcinoma. Others are adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The least common amongst the category is the large cell carcinoma. The cancer cells in this type of carcinoma conditions are round and large and progresses into metastasize stage too rapidly.

Squamous cell carcinomas results due to smoking. It develops very slowly. Men and women can be affected. This non small cell lung cancer is also the most prevalent of them all. Adenocarcinoma is again found in the lungs of the non-smokers. Generally people less than 45 years of age are affected and can be treated if diagnosed at the early stages. If tumor develops then most physicians refer surgery. Otherwise, they stick to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.