How the lungs work, what happens when cancer develops, how it is staged, and what you can do. Explore the 3D model, then read on.
Drag to rotate and scroll to zoom. Each glowing point explains a part of the lungs.
Simplified illustration for education, not to anatomical scale. Shown as if the person is facing you: their right lung is on your left.
Lung cancer starts when cells in the lung begin to grow out of control, usually in the lining of the airways. Over time they can form a mass (a tumour), invade nearby tissue, and spread through the lymph system or the blood to other parts of the body.
Doctors group lung cancers by how the cells look under a microscope, because that changes how they behave and how they are treated.
The most common kind. It usually grows more slowly. Main subtypes:
Less common but more aggressive. It grows fast and often has already spread by the time it is found, so it is usually treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy rather than surgery. It is almost always linked to smoking.
Anyone can get lung cancer, including people who have never smoked. These factors make it more likely:
Early lung cancer often causes no symptoms at all, which is why it is often found late, or by chance on a scan done for another reason. When symptoms do appear, they can include:
These symptoms are much more often caused by other, less serious conditions, such as infections. Only a doctor can find the cause.
A lung nodule is a small, roundish spot, up to 3 cm across, seen on a chest scan. Nodules are very common, and the large majority are benign: scars from old infections, small inflamed areas, or harmless growths.
Doctors decide what to do from the nodule's size, shape, density and growth, together with your personal risk factors. Often the next step is simply a repeat scan after some months to check whether it has changed.
The stage describes the tumour's size and how far it has spread. It is the most important factor in choosing treatment and in the outlook. Survival rates below are broad US averages for non-small cell lung cancer; every person's situation is different.
5-year relative survival from the American Cancer Society (SEER data), grouped as localised / regional / distant. Treatments are improving, so recent outcomes may be better than these figures.
Low-dose CT screening can find lung cancer early in people at high risk. In the US, yearly screening is recommended for adults aged 50–80 with a heavy smoking history (20 pack-years or more) who smoke now or quit within the past 15 years. Rules differ by country, so ask your doctor.
A suspicious nodule may lead to further imaging (such as PET-CT) and a biopsy, where a small tissue sample is examined. Only a biopsy can confirm cancer. Tests on the tissue also look for gene changes that guide treatment.
Depending on the type and stage: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy (for tumours with specific gene changes) and immunotherapy, often combined. A team of specialists plans it together with the patient.
No website or AI can check your health. If something worries you, see a doctor. It is always OK to ask.
General education only, written for a broad audience; it may not reflect the latest guidance in your country.