TREATING LUNG CANCER: CONTACT US FOR A LIST

OF LUNG CANCER TREATMENT CENTERS

& SPECIALISTS

There are three primary forms of treatment available for patients diagnosed with lung cancer: Surgery, Chemotherapy, and Radiotherapy.

Surgery

Any decision to employ the use of surgery for patients with lung cancer is generally dictated by the extent to which (or not) the disease is localized or has metastasized (i.e. spread to other areas, tissue and organs of the body).

Surgery is most successful – and generally only contemplated – with respect to what are defined as non-small cell lung carcinomas that are solely limited to just one of the patient's lungs.

If the lung cancer is indeed shown to have metastasized, surgical treatment alone may very well not be enough to combat the aggressive nature of the condition.

Before lung cancer surgery can be fully contemplated, both blood-tests and lung-function tests are generally undertaken – primarily to determine if the patient is healthy enough and strong enough to withstand the potential trauma of surgery.

Indeed, for lung cancer patients, the risk of death during the surgical procedure is approximately 4.5 percent.

The typical surgeries that may be undertaken include the removal of a lobe of the lung; the removal of the whole lung, and the removal of a division of a lobe.

Chemotherapy

Small cell lung carcinoma is generally treated with both chemotherapy and radiation, due to the fact that surgery has been shown to have no meaningful or significant influence on slowing down, halting or curing this particular condition.

Generally, the specific nature of the regimen in question is dependent upon the nature of the particular tumor that has led to lung cancer.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is a form of treatment that is employed specifically after lung cancer surgery has been undertaken - with a view to improving the overall outcome for the patient.

Today, adjuvant chemotherapy is estimated to improve survival rates by up to 15 percent.

Radiotherapy

Very often provided to the lung cancer patient in conjunction with chemotherapy, radiotherapy can be utilized in those lung cancer patients who are exhibiting non-small cell lung carcinoma, and for who surgery is not (or is no longer) considered to be a viable option.

This particular form of high-intensity radiotherapy is officially classed as radical radiotherapy.

Recommendations may be made that some lung cancer patients should be provided with a form of treatment called hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy - which is essentially a very high dosage of radiotherapy that is provided to the patient across a very short span of time.

In the cases of patients exhibiting non-small cell lung carcinoma and small cell lung carcinoma, lower doses of radiation to the area of the chest have proven to be beneficial.

Localized radiotherapy (or Brachytherapy) can be delivered into the airway of the lung cancer patient when the cancer may be affecting a small segment of bronchus. It is chiefly provided as a source of treatment when lung cancer that is diagnosed as inoperable begins to causes blockages in large airways.