Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the scarring of the lung tissue that leads to shortness in breath. Excessive scarring can cause damage to the lungs and make it difficult to breathe. There is no specific cause that is identified for this condition. There are various treatment options for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) as listed below. Medication Currently, there are no medicines that can cure the condition. Medicines like azathioprine, prednisone, and N-acetylcysteine can help. There is no evidence that supports its use. Prednisone This is an anti-inflammatory medicine that can be taken orally every day. It can also be administered through a needle or tube into the vein. It can cause strong side effects; hence, the doctor may only prescribe it for three to six months initially. If it works, the dosage can be reduced over time. Azathioprine Azathioprine will suppress your immune system. It can be taken orally, but it has serious side effects. N-acetylcysteine This is an antioxidant that may prevent the lung damage. It can be taken orally several times a day. A combination of all the three medicines is a common treatment for IPF. However, it is harmful and not advisable for the long term. Patients should start and stop the medication after consulting a doctor.

Kidney cancer is a fatal disease. The cells in the kidney become cancerous, multiply without control, and form a tumor. A majority of kidney cancers first occur in the tiny tubes lining of the kidney. Despite being sometimes fatal, kidney cancer, when detected at an early stage, is curable. Most of the times, kidney cancer is detected before the cancerous cells spread to other organs. If you are wondering what could be the best way to cure this disease, here are some effective treatments for kidney cancer. Active surveillance In cases of small tumors, no treatment for kidney cancer is given initially. The growth of the tumor is actively observed. If the tumor grows rapidly then the medical practitioner opts for another treatment option. This method works best for aged or weak patients to avoid the hassle of a surgery. Many-a-times, after a biopsy and close observation, these tumors are found to be non-cancerous. Surgery In a surgery, the tumor, and some of the healthy tissues around it, are removed. This is possible when cancer has not spread beyond the kidneys. In some cases, a part of the kidney or the entire organ is also removed. Some of the known surgical options are radical nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, and laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

Liver cancer, as the name suggests, is the cancer that begins in the liver cells. There are many types of cancers associated with the liver, out of which, hepatocellular carcinoma is the most commonly found cancer. A cancer is termed liver cancer only when it starts in the liver, other cancers that have spread to the liver over the time are known as metastatic cancer. Unfortunately, an overview of liver cancer will tell you that cancers that spread to the liver from other organs are more common than the cancers that start in the liver. Causes of liver cancer Liver cancer happens when liver cells mutate their DNA. One of the outcomes of this process is that cells start growing rapidly resulting in a single tumor or multiple tumors. It is very difficult to understand the causes of liver cancer. Not every case comes with a reason but one very common reason is an infection by a type of hepatitis virus. Following are some of the high risk factors associated with liver cancer- HBV or HCV A chronic infection caused by hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus increases the risk of liver cancer. Cirrhosis Liver cirrhosis is a progressive and irreversible condition, which increases the chance of getting liver cancer.

Liver cancer occurs when the cancerous cells start growing near the liver and affect its functioning gradually. This cancer is silent cancer, which does not show any sign till it has progressed to later stages. Hence, the prognosis for liver disease is very bad and there is no hope for it improving in the future. Liver cancer has a lot of symptoms but the problem with these symptoms is that they are also associated with other liver-related diseases. Therefore, the patients tend to ignore them for a long time before a red flag is raised. Following are a few common symptoms seen in the liver cancer patients. Unexplained weight loss A person suffering from liver cancer loses weight dramatically. This is more because complications inside the liver lead to loss of appetite resulting in the poor health of the patient. Loss of appetite Liver cancer gives a constant feeling of being full. Even one bite of food can make the patient feel like they have eaten too much and might not be able to keep everything inside. Nausea and vomiting Liver cancer causes extreme nausea and vomiting. It creates an aversion to food and the patient starves while having a feeling of overeating.

Metastatic cancers are the cancers that are characterized by their origin. These cancers, even after spreading to another organ, are still identified by the name of the organ they started from. For instance, if lung cancer affects another organ, say the liver, it will be called metastatic lung cancer and not liver cancer. It should be noted that metastatic cancer is not the same as second primary cancer. The survival rate of metastatic lung cancer is different from that of the second primary cancer. Abnormal cells in a new organ are part of metastases only when the cells show similarity to primary cancer, whereas second primary cancer involves the new growth of abnormal cells which are not similar to cancer cells belonging to any other part of the body. The latter kind of cancer is also rare. Some of the organs most commonly affected in metastatic lung cancer include the lymph nodes, brain, liver, adrenal glands, and bones. Although not completely impossible, but, in rare cases, it may also spread to the stomach, intestines, pancreas, and kidneys. Metastatic lung cancer survival rate indicates the rate of people who are alive after a specific period of time following the diagnosis. Five years is the time period that is taken as the base to calculate survival rate.