my dad has been smoking since he was around 13,14 and he is now 43 he is now coughing all the time and cant stop he also sometimes vomits he is always tired and looks like he changed alot. he wants to go to the doctor to check himself and he still smokes. we tryed to make him stop but he wont do u belive he has cancer or another type of sickness? also how can i tell if he has cancer?
2007-02-21 06:05:38 · 6 answers · asked by greenday 1130 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
Some basic stats about lung cancer...
The number one sign of lung cancer is a change in normal lung habits...that means a cough, sputem what ever that is different than before..
75% of lung cancer patients will have a cough
60% will have sputem (cough up) blood or pus in it
30% have difficulty breathing
These are the number one signs of cancer.
Lung cancer is very hard to spot before it has spread because no one looks at these very common symptoms as cancer...they will say it is a cold or anything else other than cancer. But these are the signs of lung cancer.
The sooner you catch lung cancer the better.
But most often it is never caught before it has spread.
Of all the lung cancer patients only 20% qualify for surgery to have the cancer removed. Of that 20% though the survival rate for 5 years is 90%.
But for the other 80% that aren't allowed to have surgery...the 5 year survival rate is less than 5%. The prognosis for lung cancer is very low. This is with treatment
Not only that but also the people who do get lung cancer most likely will have it spread to the brain...even if thye have surgery to remove it...with in 5 years 80% will have it spread to there brain...even with treatment.
The number one cause of lung cancer is smoking...
It takes about 5-10 years to get your lungs back to being as healthy as a non smoker.
I would tell him all this and maybe it will scare him into going...
2007-02-21 12:01:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be any number of things: cancer emphysema, bronchitis, COPD. He should be checked out by a doctor. My Dad stopped smoking when he was 57, he had smoked since he was 10. His coughing went away, he was able to save up to buy something special with the money he saved by not buying cigarettes and he feel proud of himself!
Maybe there is something your dad could buy that he really wants with his "quitting smoking savings"? The nicotine patches work well, I've heard. Keep encouraging him!
2007-02-21 06:12:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The only way to tell if he has cancer is to take him to the doctor. There are many diseases (emphazima, etc) that can arise from smoking and until he sees a doctor, you'll never know for sure. Do you honestly think that people on the internet can give you a diagnosis based on what you typed?
2007-02-21 06:10:44 · answer #3 · answered by leaptad 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He could get a chest x-ray to see if there is anything there...could be bronchitis from smoking and the weather this time of year...smokers can also get emphysema and smoking is linked to other cancers besides lung, namely pancreatic and kidney or bladder cancer (may be others too)..not sure what the vomiting is about...maybe from coughing so hard that you gag yourself?
2007-02-21 06:52:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only sure way to tell is if he goes to see a doctor. If he is vomiting and coughing excessively, this is not good, but it does not necessarily mean he has cancer. You could do a search on the internet for symptoms of cancer, particularly lung cancer. This site might be able to help you. http://health.divinfo.com/
2007-02-21 06:10:14 · answer #5 · answered by Reenie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You personally cannot tell if your Dad has cancer because you are not a doctor. Your best bet is to try and get your Father into a doctor who can perform tests on him.
2007-02-21 06:10:14 · answer #6 · answered by exiletheking 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋