On the morning of January 16, Zhao Fang, the son of the famous CCTV host Zhao Zhongxiang, announced the death of Zhao Zhongxiang to the public through Zhao Zhongxiang’s personal online account.

Zhao Fang said in the article that Zhao Zhongxiang died of illness in Beijing at 7:30 on January 16 at the age of 78.

Zhao Zhongxiang’s physical condition gradually deteriorated at the end of 2019, and he was eventually diagnosed with advanced cancer, which had metastasized throughout the body. There were rumors that Zhao Zhongxiang had passed away not long ago, but Zhao Zhongxiang spoke out to refute the rumors at the time. Although he is terminally ill, Zhao Zhongxiang has been actively cooperating with the treatment. Zhao Fang also mentioned that Zhao Zhongxiang respects the medical staff very much and expresses his gratitude to them.

As a former CCTV announcer and host, Zhao Zhongxiang is well-known to people across the country for his long-term hosting of national programs such as the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, "Animal World", and "Man and Nature".

After retirement, Zhao Zhongxiang turned his attention to his hobbies of calligraphy and painting, and also participated in some variety shows from time to time. In February last year, Zhao Zhongxiang also participated in the recording of "Sound on the Scene" with his old partner Ni Ping. Although he was old at that time, he was still in good spirits.

For cancer, if it is detected early, it can be treated with comprehensive treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and a certain survival period can be obtained.

After Zhao Zhongxiang passed away, some media reported that he died of systemic metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma in a certain organ. According to the description of Zhao Zhongxiang’s former friend, he went to the hospital at the end of 2019 because of discomfort in his legs. During the examination, it was found that he had lung cancer combined with multiple metastases throughout the body.

It was discovered that in less than two months, his condition progressed rapidly, and 7 days before his death, he fell into a coma.

What is lung squamous cell carcinoma?

Lung cancer is the malignant tumor that has long occupied the first place in the cancer mortality list. According to statistics from the National Cancer Center, the number of incidences and deaths from lung cancer in my country has ranked first among malignant tumors for 10 consecutive years. There are approximately 787,000 new cases of lung cancer every year and approximately 631,000 deaths due to lung cancer.

The top ten cancer ratios

On December 5, 2019, the 33-year-old CBA Beijing Shougang player Ji Zhe died of late-stage lung cancer, and Guo Ailun also recently discovered that his lung cancer Nodules and rested for some time. Lung cancer is a nightmare for everyone.

Based on the morphological differences of cancer cells under a microscope, lung cancer can be roughly divided into: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is further divided into:

1. Squamous cell carcinoma: The tumor originates from squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells that look like fish scales. These are also called epithelial cells. like cancer.

2. Large cell carcinoma: Tumors originate from various types of large cells.

3. Adenocarcinoma: The tumor originates from cells along the alveolar walls and can secrete some substances, such as mucus.

4. Other uncommon non-small cell lung cancers, such as pleomorphic carcinoma, carcinoid, salivary gland carcinoma and unclassified tumors.

The above classifications of lung cancer may sound confusing, but ordinary people do not need to remember them, because the distinction and naming are based on observation under a microscope.

Why does lung cancer progress so quickly?

The lungs are organs that are directly connected to the air. It can be said that whatever the skin contacts, the lungs need to contact. But the lungs are much more fragile than the skin.

But we cannot entirely blame our lungs, because people cannot live without air for a moment, and the lungs need to keep running. If the nasal cavity, oral cavity, and trachea do not filter out some harmful substances first, our lungs will bear greater pressure.

Our fragile lungs carry a huge workload. If you encounter the following risk factors, you may increase your risk of lung cancer.

1. Inhalation of tobacco products is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. Whether it’s e-cigarettes, cigars or the largest-selling filter cigarettes. People who have a history of smoking or have continued to smoke have a higher chance of developing lung cancer than non-smokers. Secondhand smoke also poses a risk of lung cancer. According to reports, Zhao Zhongxiang has a history of smoking for many years. Although he has quit smoking for many years, lung cancer still catches him.

2. Industrial poisons are also high-risk factors for lung cancer, such as asbestos, nickel, chromium, radon, etc.

3. Genetic factors are risk factors that cannot be ignored. People who have a history of lung cancer in their family or parents need to be alert to the occurrence of lung cancer.

4. Air pollution, such as smog, has been proven to be a high-risk factor for lung cancer.

5. Kitchen fume. As the number of female lung cancer patients increases year by year, people are beginning to pay attention to this factor that is easily overlooked. Women who do not smoke are likely to develop lung cancer due to long-term exposure to kitchen fumes.

6. Other infectious diseases, such as AIDS, can induce lung cancer.

The five-year survival rate of lung cancer is around 19, which means that 81 out of 100 people will die within five years after lung cancer is diagnosed. The reason for the high cancer mortality and low five-year survival rate is that the early symptoms of lung cancer are often not obvious. Many people ignore the early detection and early treatment of lung cancer, as well as the limitations of screening and treatment technology.

Squamous cell lung cancer is considered to be the most malignant lung cancer, while squamous cell carcinoma is much less malignant. Early surgery can provide better treatment results.

There are reports that Zhao Zhongxiang had discovered a lung lesion three years ago. At that time, a puncture biopsy was performed and it was diagnosed as benign, so Zhao Zhongxiang relaxed his vigilance about it. It is said that he felt so uncomfortable with the biopsy that he refused all retests for the next three years until he became unwell late last year.

What are the early symptoms of lung cancer?

A 32-year-old colleague suffered from shortness of breath and cough not long ago. As a clinician, he still has certain sensitivity to diseases, so he chose to have a chest CT examination. After the results came out, his heart still skipped a beat. The report showed that it was a small nodule in the lungs, about 2cm. In the end, he underwent surgery, and the pathology results also showed lung cancer.

It can be seen from this case that the most common early manifestations of lung cancer are coughing or chest tightness and shortness of breath, which are symptoms that can be associated with the lungs. But because colds can also cause coughs, many people tend to overlook this as a symptom of lung cancer.

Many early-stage lung cancers have no symptoms, and it is difficult for us to catch them except for physical examination findings. However, it is recommended to have a physical examination if the following symptoms occur.

·A cough that has lasted for several weeks or a previous cough that has worsened significantly.

·There is blood in the phlegm, often with bright red blood streaks.

·Sudden hoarseness of voice.

·Unusual shortness of breath, especially if it persists for several weeks or gradually worsens.

·New persistent chest pain that does not improve or gradually worsens after several weeks; or previous chronic chest pain suddenly worsens.

·Recent physical weakness and inability to complete daily work and life.

·Unexplained weight loss without planned dieting or weight loss deserves special attention. Especially when the weight loss exceeds 15kg within 3 months, it often indicates malignant tumors. occur.

What tests can detect lung cancer?

As a doctor, if you encounter a patient with the above symptoms, it is crucial to collect a detailed medical history. For example, the high-risk factors mentioned earlier - whether the patient smokes, what the working environment is like, whether the patient has been exposed to kitchen fumes for a long time, whether close relatives have a history of cancer, etc.

Next, if the symptoms and medical history point to lung cancer, the easiest way to check is to do a chest X-ray. However, smaller cancers are difficult to identify on chest X-rays, so further examination requires plain lung CT scan or enhanced scan.

The gold standard for diagnosing lung cancer must be to obtain cancer tissue cells, so needle biopsy is often used to diagnose lung cancer. That is, under the guidance of CT, the doctor uses a special puncture needle to puncture the tumor, and removes the specimen for observation under a microscope.

However, the limitation of lung puncture biopsy is that it is difficult to operate, it is difficult to penetrate the tumor, or what is removed from the tumor is not cancer cells. Therefore, when diagnosis is difficult, the tumor must be removed through surgery for testing if necessary. A less invasive method is thoracoscopic surgery.

Of course, there are more auxiliary methods, such as searching for tumor cells through sputum, detecting central lung cancer with fiberoptic bronchoscopy, testing for blood tumor markers, etc.

It needs to be emphasized that the simplest and most efficient way to screen for lung cancer is to do a low-dose spiral CT scan.

How to prevent lung cancer?

Many high-risk factors were mentioned earlier. Only by responding to those high-risk factors can we take preventive measures.

For example, don’t smoke, quit any form of tobacco, and stay away from second-hand smoke.

Wear a mask when traveling or reduce travel in weather with severe air pollution.

Improve the kitchen environment and reduce kitchen fume inhalation.

There are also some adjustments to dietary habits: proper exercise, weight control, eating vegetables many times, avoiding vitamin abuse (β-carotene can increase the risk of lung cancer), controlling alcohol consumption, etc.

Many people are afraid of cancer. In fact, an optimistic attitude has a good effect on treatment. It is also difficult for us to avoid diseases, but we can actively make some changes to obtain the greatest therapeutic effect