Compare conditions

Put any two — or three — conditions side by side, adult or pediatric, to spot the look-alike differences fast, row by row.

Lung Cancer

—

In one line

·Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer — and most cases start with cigarette smoke damaging the DNA in lung cells until one cell breaks free and multiplies without stopping.

—

Normal physiology

·Your lungs are built like an upside-down tree: the windpipe (trachea) splits into two main tubes (bronchi), which branch into smaller and smaller airways (bronchioles) that end in clusters of tiny air sacs called alveoli — thin-walled bubbles wrapped in blood vessels where oxygen jumps into your blood and carbon dioxide jumps out.

—

What goes wrong

·Cigarette smoke (and other poisons like radon gas, asbestos fibers, or diesel exhaust) lands on the airway lining thousands of times a day, cracking the DNA inside cells. Most cells fix the break or die. But if mutations pile up in the genes that control cell division (oncogenes like KRAS, EGFR) or the genes that force damaged cells to self-destruct (tumor suppressors like TP53, RB1), one cell loses its stop signal and starts copying itself endlessly — that is cancer.

—

Hallmark signs

·A cough that won't go away or gets worse over weeks
·Coughing up blood or rust-colored spit
·Chest pain that feels deep and aches, especially when you breathe in or cough
·Shortness of breath or wheezing
·Hoarse voice that doesn't get better
·Losing weight without trying, and feeling very tired
·Bone pain, especially in the back or hips
·New headaches, confusion, or trouble with balance

—

Red flags · escalate now

·Coughing up blood
·Severe chest pain or trouble breathing at rest
·Sudden confusion, seizure, or one-sided weakness (signs of brain spread)
·Swelling of the face and neck with visible bulging veins (superior vena cava syndrome)
·New bone pain that won't go away, especially in the spine

—

Workup

·Low-dose chest CT scan
·Chest X-ray (posteroanterior and lateral)
·Tissue biopsy with histology and molecular testing (EGFR, ALK, ROS1, BRAF, PD-L1, KRAS)
·PET-CT scan (positron emission tomography with CT)
·Brain MRI with contrast
·Complete blood count (CBC)
·Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) including calcium
·Pulmonary function tests (spirometry)

—

Treatment

·Low-dose CT screening every year for people aged 50–80 with at least 20 pack-years of smoking history (current smokers or quit within the past 15 years)
·Surgery (lobectomy or wedge resection) to remove the tumor and nearby lymph nodes
·Targeted therapy matched to the tumor's specific mutation: osimertinib for EGFR mutations, alectinib or brigatinib for ALK rearrangements, sotorasib or adagrasib for KRAS G12C, dabrafenib plus trametinib for BRAF V600E
·Immunotherapy (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, or durvalumab) alone or combined with platinum-based chemotherapy (carboplatin or cisplatin plus pemetrexed or etoposide)
·Radiation therapy (stereotactic body radiation or conventional fractionated radiation)
·Smoking cessation (stop all tobacco products, avoid secondhand smoke, use nicotine replacement or varenicline if needed)
·Supportive care: supplemental oxygen for low oxygen levels, opioids (morphine) for pain and shortness of breath, cough suppressants, thoracentesis (draining fluid around the lung), nutrition support, palliative care team involvement

—

NCLEX trap

·Any cough lasting more than 3 weeks in a smoker or former smoker needs a chest X-ray and imaging right away—do not wait and treat the symptom; find the sickness first. Lung cancer hides behind ordinary coughs, and delay lets it spread.
·Early lung cancer often causes only a cough or no symptoms at all. Pain comes later when the tumor grows big enough to press on the chest wall, ribs, or nerves. Absence of pain does not rule out lung cancer—many patients find out only when a routine X-ray shows a shadow.
·Lung cancer can happen in non-smokers from radon gas (invisible radioactive gas seeping from soil), secondhand smoke, asbestos fibers, air pollution, or random DNA mistakes. Always think of cancer in an unexplained cough or weight loss, even without a smoking history.
·A single normal CT does not rule out lung cancer forever. In a high-risk smoker (20+ pack-years), repeat imaging in 6–12 months or special tests like PET scan (positron-emission tomography, which lights up active cancer cells) may be needed. A negative test today can turn positive as tiny cells grow.
·In lung cancer, weight loss comes from cachexia—the tumor burns energy fast and releases chemicals (cytokines) that melt muscle and fat, even when the patient eats. Feeding more does not reverse it; treating the cancer with chemo, radiation, or targeted drugs does.
·Swelling in the face and neck is superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome—the tumor is blocking the SVC (the main vein draining blood from the head and arms back to the heart), not just fluid overload. This is a cancer emergency needing radiation or a stent (tiny metal tube) to open the vein, not water pills.

—

Install Maldek by Hill as an app — studies work even offline