Lung Cancer Treatments
Lung Cancer Treatments
Introduction:
Lung cancer happens when cells in the lung begin to grow out of control and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Large collections of cancer cells are called tumors. Cells in any of the tissues in the lung can develop cancer; but most commonly, lung cancer comes from the lining of the bronchi. Lung cancer is not really thought of as a single disease, but rather a collection of several diseases that are characterized by the cell type that makes them up, how they behave, and how they are treated. Lung cancer is divided into two main categories:
Symptoms of lung cancer:
The symptoms of lung cancer include:
a chronic cough
worsening breathlessness
weight loss
excessive fatigue
persistent pain in the chest or elsewhere, (possibly from the cancer spreading to a bone)
symptoms can be due to the original tumour in the lung or to the effects of secondary tumours elsewhere in the body
one of the most significant symptoms of lung cancer is coughing up blood or haemoptysis. This can sometimes occur as an early warning sign of a cancer that may still be curable. Any person who coughs up blood should see their GP for advice urgently as lung cancer must be considered, particularly if the person is a smoker over the age of 40.
Two Major Types of Lung Cancer:
There are two major types of lung cancer -- non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Each type of lung cancer grows and spreads in different ways, and each is treated differently.
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) - the rarer of the two types (about 20% of all lung cancers), small cell lung cancer is more aggressive than non small cell lung cancer because is grows more quickly and is more likely to spread to other organs
Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - the more common of the two types (80% of all lung cancers), non small cell lung cancer is generally slower growing than small cell lung cancer and is divided into three different types based on how the cells look that make it up - adenocarcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
Lung Cancer Can Spread
Lung cancer may spread to the lymph nodes or other tissues in the chest, including the lung opposite to where it originated. It may also spread to other organs of the body, such as the bones, brain, or liver. When cancer spreads from its original location in the lung to another part of the body such as the brain, it is called metastatic lung cancer, not brain cancer. Doctors sometimes call this distant disease.
Many people with lung cancer are all too aware that lung cancer can spread. Nearly 40% of those diagnosed with lung cancer already have metastases (lung cancer spread) to other parts of the body.
The lungs
The liver
The lymph nodes
The bones
The brain
The skin
Breast
Conclusion:
Treatments for lung cancer:
a)Surgery:
For patients with non small cell lung cancer, surgery is often employed in cancers up to and including stage IIIA. The purpose of the surgery is to remove all of the cancer if possible. If the tumor is small and in a favorable location, or the patient has limited lung function, the surgeon may choose to remove the tumor with a small section of lung; this is called a wedge resection. Most times the surgeon will choose to remove the entire lobe of the involved lung; this is known as a lobectomy. On occasion, the surgeon must remove the entire lung affected by the cancer; and this is known a pneumonectomy.
b)Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs that go throughout the entire body. These drugs may be given through a vein or as pills by mouth. Chemotherapy is recommended after surgery for some stage I and stage II non-small cell lung cancer patients. Because current treatment of advanced stage non-small cell lung cancers (stage III) is often a combination of radiation and/or chemotherapy and/or surgery, the timing and use of chemotherapy may vary depending on the specifics of the case. It may be given at the same time as radiation, or before or after radiation. Chemotherapy is offered to many patients with stage IV disease.
c)Radiotherapy
Lung cancer patients commonly are treated with radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays (similar to x-rays) to kill cancer cells. It comes from an external source, and it requires patients to come in 5 days a week for up to 6-8 weeks to a radiation therapy treatment center. The treatment takes just a few minutes, and it is painless. Radiation therapy is often combined with surgery and is important in the treatment of all types of lung cancer.
by: venkat
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