Lung cancer treatment
Lung cancer treatment will almost certainly include one or more of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Your doctor will choose the best treatment based on the stage of your cancer, where the tumor is in your lung, your general health, and other relevant factors.
New lung cancer treatments are also being developed and may be given as an addition to the standard treatment for some patients, either after they are approved or as part of a clinical trial.
Surgery
Whenever possible, an operation to remove the tumor is the preferred initial treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The surgeon may remove the entire lung (called a “pneumectomy”), one or more sections of the lung (called a “lobectomy”), or a part of one section (called a “wedge resection”). Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is not usually treated with surgery because the disease is already likely to have spread by the time it is diagnosed.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of many types of cancer, including NSCLC. In lung cancer treatment it can be used in various ways:
- As a treatment on its own, without surgery or other treatments
- As adjuvant therapy (literally “helping” therapy) after surgery to lower the risk of the cancer returning
- Before surgery in order to kill cancer cells and reduce the tumor size (this is called neo-adjuvant therapy).
Chemotherapy is the preferred treatment option for SCLC, because small cell lung cancer tends to respond well to it.
Chemotherapy may cause side effects because it targets all fast-growing cells, and not just cancer cells. These side effects may include anemia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss and general fatigue. They can be severe, although medicines like anti-sickness drugs can help make them easier to deal with.
Radiotherapy
This treatment uses high energy irradiation to kill cancer cells. It is given as a course of short sessions (from 3 to 36). You may be given radiotherapy as your only lung cancer treatment, although it is usually combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy.
Radiotherapy aims at killing cancer cells in a specific part of the body. It may be prescribed for you when the cancer is confined to one area, when it is difficult to remove all cancer cells surgically, or simply when cancer cells are judged to be very responsive to it.
Side effects vary from one patient to another and may involve local skin reactions, a feeling of nausea and fatigue, and anemia.
