Blog

Regardless of the context of discovery, a number of investigations must be performed to confirm the diagnosis of lung cancer and evaluate its stage.

The diagnostic balance is based mainly on:

• A clinical examination- The objective of the clinical examination is to make an assessment of your general condition using various means such as performance status, to identify your medical history and the pathologies you suffer from, to list your current treatments, your risk factors and your smoking addiction, if you smoke, to assess the possible frailty of elderly patients using specific questionnaires and scales.
• A chest x-ray- The purpose of this examination is to reveal the presence of abnormalities in the lungs. However, the X-ray does not make it possible to determine whether an abnormality discovered is benign or malignant. And, moreover, it does not always detect an anomaly, even if it is actually present in the lung.
• A chest scanner- It is a question of identifying the presence or absence of an anomaly and, if so, its size and location. This examination detects anomalies even of very small size (less than or equal to 3 millimeters). The scanner gives no indication of the type of cells in question. In the case of lung cancer, the CT scan done by the best CT scan centre in Delhi can identify if the nearby lymph nodes are abnormally large. But it does not make it possible to specify whether or not they are affected by cancer cells. Before going to have a CT scan, it is important to know the chest CT scan cost in Delhi.
• Biopsy. The biopsy makes it possible to recover tissue samples that seem abnormal for analysis and to determine whether they are of a cancerous nature or not. These samples can also be stored after the operation in a tumor library (tumor library) for further research.
• In some situations, it is not possible, before treatment, to obtain a histological diagnosis, which requires an analysis of tissues taken from the tumor. This is then performed during the surgical procedure. The operation then has a diagnostic and therapeutic purpose.

Bronchial fibroscopy

The bronchoscopy is the key diagnostic for lung cancers. It allows doctors to observe the inner wall of the trachea and bronchi, as well as to take samples at the level of suspicious lesions (biopsy).

These tissue samples are then analyzed under a microscope to confirm or deny the nature of the lesions. In the case of proven cancer, it is then possible to determine which tumor subtype is detected and thus to choose the most appropriate treatment.

Specifically, a flexible tube containing a miniature camera and sampling instruments is introduced into the bronchi, via the trachea and the patient's nose.

The examination is unpleasant, but it is not painful because it is performed under local anesthesia. It lasts 10 to 20 minutes. It is necessary to be fasting for at least two hours before the beginning of fibroscopy.

Due to the (low) risk of hemorrhage associated with the examination, it is recommended that you do not take aspirin within 10 days of the exam. People on anticoagulant therapy should report it.

It is more of a common problem that we face these days irrespective of what age bracket we come under. Waking up after a good night's sleep, we experience a certain kind of stiffness in the leg muscles in areas like ankles, calves and even knee caps. Commonly known as leg cramps, the pain is also known as “charley horse. The pain can be and can happen when a muscle gets involuntarily stiff and can’t relax. The condition is more of a nuisance as we age. If the pain gets to the unbearable ranges, a CT scan must be obtained to check what the condition and bone health are.

The reasons for leg cramps are quite a lot. Some of the common ones include:

• Lack of hydration- We have seen many a time an athlete is down on the ground due to a sudden leg cramp and muscle pull. This point to nothing but hydration. The liquid flow in the body is needed to keep the muscle's constituent's intact.
• Lack of adequate nutrition- It is a necessity to have a balance of electrolytes (calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium) for the contraction and relaxation of a muscle. But the same should not be done by self-treating with supplements. If you take an excess of food supplements, it can be harmful. Hence, you must focus on the simplicity of the food eating whilst maintaining an intake of mostly complex nutrients which are not processed.
• Side-effects due to medication- Some medications such as statins and furosemide can also cause muscle cramps. It has been frequently observed among the suffering people that they complain of cramps in the legs when they begin taking a new medication. If the problems persist, consult your doctors immediately.
• Poor blood circulation- A certain amount of daily activity can improve the circulation of the entire body including that of the legs. Lack of walking or even excessive leg activity for that matter can cause hurt in your legs. Therefore, the initial bout of pain in the legs should not be ignored and must be consulted with an orthopedic doctor.
• Ignoring exercises like stretching- After a long hour of sleep, the body does tend to develop uneven postures that can add to the problem of leg cramps. One should not start off without a stretching exercise to ease the muscles before a strenuous day.

One of the most important things that we tend to forget is the fact that our muscle for legs does most of the balancing act. It is the legs that carry the weight of the entire body. Therefore, even a bit of discomfort in the leg muscle must not be ignored. For the problems that are impending for long should be tested in an MRI scan to figure if these are ominous signs to something threatening. Seek the services of the MRI scan centers in West Delhi which can obtain clear images of the concerned area.

Thoracic Pathologies and Radiation Problems

The scanner is the reference diagnostic tool for thoracic pathology. Unlike a standard X-ray, sectional images help to avoid the appearance of shadows. Thanks to the air in the lungs and the contrast media, the resolution is ideal for lung parenchyma examination. In addition, the thoracic scanner has a very high spatial resolution, exceeding the performance of the MRI as part of a health check.

Fast and easy to perform (4 to 5 seconds), CT scan significantly reduces movement artifacts. In addition, the various filters, the software and the 3D reconstructions make it possible to improve the interpretation of the images obtained. Unfortunately, the CT scan shows a very high level of radiation. The low dose chest scanner has been developed to work around this problem.

MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF THE TECHNIQUE

With the low-dose chest CT scan, the primary goal is to obtain usable images with a radiation level equivalent to that of a standard X-ray. The dose is then adjusted according to the age and body size of the subject. The examination thus displays a radiation rate in the order of 1/10th to 1/20th of the 25th percentile of the reference level. Set by the ASCN (Nuclear Safety Authority), this value corresponds to the average dose used in hospitals.

At its lowest level, the low-dose chest CT scan by the best CT scan Centre in Delhi provides satisfactory images for nodule observation or monitoring of problems such as pleural effusion, pneumothorax, pneumonia, etc. With a slightly increased dose, it can serve as a first-line examination for the management of certain diseases. The examination has been particularly successful in the early diagnosis of bronchial cancer in the context of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST).

The lung scan may be useful for detecting blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), but it has largely been replaced by CT angiography in the diagnosis of this condition. Pulmonary scintigraphy can also be used as a preoperative assessment in people with lung cancer. Pulmonary scintigraphy uses small amounts of a half-life radioactive substance to measure air and blood flow throughout the lungs. In general, the exam is done in two stages.

In the first step (pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy), a radioactive substance is injected into a vein, and the scanner produces an image of the diffusion of this product into the pulmonary bloodstream. If perfusion scintigraphy reveals abnormalities, it is necessary to proceed to a second step (pulmonary ventilation scintigraphy).

INDICATIONS AND DISADVANTAGES

The low-dose chest CT scan is particularly interesting because of the quality of the images obtained, its speed and the significant reduction of radiation risks. The technique is mainly used for the early detection of bronchial cancer in a population at risk and the follow-up of various thoracic disorders. Thus, doctors can quickly adjust the treatment of patients, case by case. However, computed tomography poses a significant problem because of CT scan price in Delhi.

Currently, low dose CT screening for lung cancer is four times more expensive than for breast cancer and ten times more expensive than for colon cancer. As a result, it is currently inconceivable to use it for repeated checks. The latter can indeed take several years and generate excessive expenditure for patients and care organizations.

A low-dose helical computed tomography (CT scan center in Noida) scan is a type of medical test. It is used to detect early signs of lung cancer. If the test detects cancer, treatment can start early.

However, the test is not beneficial for people who smoke little or those who quit smoking more than 15 years ago and is generally not recommended for people under 55 or over 80 years of age. Even people who smoke a lot receive only a small benefit from the test, so you should think twice before taking the test.

Who should consider an analysis for detection?

The CT scan cost in Delhi for lung cancer is usually reserved for people who have the highest risk of developing this cancer, such as the following:

·        Older adults who smoke or were smokers. The analysis for the detection of lung cancer, generally, is offered to people of 55 years or more who smoke or were smokers.

·        People who have smoked a lot for many years. You can consider an analysis to detect lung cancer if you have a history of smoking 1 packet per year for 30 years or more. The pack years are calculated by multiplying the number of packets of cigarettes you smoked per day and the number of years you smoked.

·        People who once smoked a lot but stopped smoking. If you smoked a lot for a long time but have quit smoking, you can consider an analysis for the detection of lung cancer.

·        People with good health in general. If you have serious health problems, you are less likely to benefit from the screening test for lung cancer and are more likely to experience complications in follow-up testing. For this reason, the screening for lung cancer is offered to people who are in good general health.

·        In general, screening is not recommended for those who have poor lung function or other serious conditions that could make surgery difficult. This could include people who need continuous oxygen administration, who have suffered thinning without apparent cause in the past year, who have recently shed blood when coughing or who have undergone chest computed tomography screening in the past year.

·        People with a history of lung cancer. If you have been treated for lung cancer for more than five years, you may consider having an analysis for lung cancer screening.

·        People who have other risk factors for lung cancer can be those who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, those with a family history of lung cancer and those who are exposed to asbestos at work.

How long the analysis for detection should be continued?

Not all medical groups agree on how old you can consider stopping the test for lung cancer. In general, continue to perform the annual analysis for the detection of lung cancer until the time when you do not benefit from it, as when you manifest other serious conditions that may leave you too weak to undergo cancer treatment.