What is Lung Cancer?

What is lung cancer? Lung cancer is a form of cancer originating from cells in the lungs, the two large organs in the chest cavity important for breathing (respiration).

What are the lungs? The lungs are paired (there are two of them, a left and right lung) organs which fill up most of the chet cavity (called the thoracic cavity). The heart and large blood vessels sit between the two lungs.

The lungs are important for breathing (respiration). When we inhale (take a breath in) we fill our lungs with air. Two primary things happen to that air in our lungs. For one, the oxygen in the air is absorbed through the lungs into our bloodstream. This oxygen is distributed to all the tissues of our bodies and is important for the normal havesting of energy from the sugars and other nutrients we eat. Our cells cannot live long without oxygen.

The other thing that occurs in the lungs is that carbon dioxide (a byproduct of several of our metabolic processes including sugar metabolism) is released from our blood into the air we exhale. Therefore our lungs help us both breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide.

The lungs are absolutely vital organs which we cannot do without.

What is Lung Cancer? Like other forms of cancer, lung cancer is a malignant tumor, in this case originating from cells in the lungs. There are actually several types of lung cancer that vary in their presentation and their prognosis. Many types of lung cancer are strongly associated with smoking while others are not. The specific location of the tumor and the characteristics of the cancerous cells varies depending on type and from patient to patient.