Is pulmonary emphysema lung cancer?

Pulmonary tuberculosis is the name of a disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine and does not usually refer to lung cancer.

Pulmonary atrophy refers to the weakness of the lung lobes. It is one of the chronic lung wasting diseases. The disease is mainly located in the lungs, but is closely related to organs such as the spleen, stomach, and kidneys. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the pathogenesis of this disease is mainly caused by heat scorching, lung dryness and fluid damage, or lung qi deficiency and coldness, and qi cannot transform fluid. Syndrome differentiation is divided into two categories: lung deficiency heat and deficiency cold, among which weakness is more common. Some chronic lung parenchymal lesions in Western medicine, such as atelectasis and pulmonary fibrosis, are all considered pulmonary atrophy.

Lung cancer is called lung accumulation in traditional Chinese medicine, which refers to the nodules and lumps that appear in the lungs. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the occurrence of this disease is related to the weakness of the vital energy, the accumulation of evil energy in the lungs, and the entanglement of phlegm and blood. It itself does not belong to pulmonary emphysema. Although the symptoms are similar, the causes and pathogenesis are different. From the perspective of modern medicine, lung cancer is a malignant tumor formed after the DNA of the lung epithelial tissue cells mutates.

Patients are advised to seek medical attention for imaging examinations as soon as possible after experiencing symptoms such as long-term cough, sputum, chest tightness, shortness of breath or chest pain, to clarify the specific cause and severity of the disease and choose an appropriate treatment plan. If there are high-risk factors such as a family history of lung cancer, a long-term smoking history, or a history of occupational exposure, regular medical attention is also required for targeted lung cancer prevention screening to avoid unknowingly developing cancer.