How long does it take for lung cancer to spread
How does lung cancer spread? Lung cancer usually begins as a tiny spot, most often on the inner lining of a bronchial tube. Lungs have a rich supply of blood and lymph vessels close to the cancer cells. If these cells get into the bloodstream or the lymph system, they can act as seeds and spread to other parts of the body. When this happens, it is called a metastasis. A metastasis (or "met," as it is sometimes called) is not a new kind of cancer, but is the lung cancer which has moved to another part of the body and begun to grow there. Therefore, even if it has spread to the bone, for example, it is not bone cancer but simply an extension or metastasis of the lung cancer. The metastasis looks and behaves in the same way as the original lung cancer, and therefore the same treatment which has been used to contain the lung tumor is likely to be used in treating the metastasis. How does the original lung tumor affect the lung? There can be several effects on the proces...