Sadak 2 star Sanjay Dutt diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer; know what it means

What is lung cancer?

It occurs when cells in a person's body grow out of control. This type of cancer may often spread to lymph nodes or other organs in the body. People who smoke are more prone to lung cancer. In fact, many times people exposed to secondhand smoke can also have lung cancer. The body's natural defence mechanism tries to repair the damage but with prolonged exposure, the cells that line the lungs get increasingly damaged and eventually it can lead to cancer.

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How is the stage diagnosed?

It is diagnosed by three key criteria called TNM. T refers to the tumour, N refers to Nodes and M refers to Metastasis. It is medically found out how big is the tumour (T), where it is, how near it is to the lymph nodes (N), and how far (M) has cancer spread from its original spot.

Types of Stage 3 lung cancer

Stage 3 cancer can also be split into three groups - Stage IIIA, Stage IIIB and Stage IIIC. Stage A is when the tumours are present in only the lung. Stage B is when there are tumours in the same lung but they have spread to lymph nodes above the collarbone and may have also spread to the other side of the yet reached chest. Stage C is the most advanced stage where the lung cancer has spread to lymph nodes above the collarbone and also to the opposite side of the chest. At this stage, it could have reached the chest wall, breastbone or other nearby tissues.

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Symptoms of lung cancer

It doesn't show any visible signs or symptoms when it is in the early stages. The common signs can be

• A persistent cough that refuses to go away
• Coughing up blood
• Breathlessness
• Chest pain
• Unexplained weight loss
• Pain in the bones

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