chemotherapy – Cancer In Plain English – Cancer Information

In the treatment of lung cancer does it help to receive chemotherapy after surgery? – YES!

RemwesMedical — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:22:21 +0000

A key factor when it comes to treating lung cancer is that if the lung cancer is found early in its growth, it may be possible to remove it surgically. To remove a lung cancer by surgery is the BEST CHANCE for cure that a patient with lung cancer can have. Unfortunately, there are many patients in whom the lung cancer returns just a few months after having removed it surgically. Also unfortunately, and more importantly, is the fact that when the lung cancer returns after having removed it surgically, it is then usually incurable. A key question is then: Is there something we can do in order to try to keep the lung cancer from coming back after having removed it surgically? The answer is yes!
In a recent set of articles and an editorial in the January 1, 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Doctors at the Cross Cancer Institute in Alberta, Canada have shown that it helps to receive chemotherapy after the surgery is performed to remove the lung cancer. They have shown that by giving chemotherapy following surgery, the chemotherapy helps to keep the cancer from returning. The act of giving chemotherapy following surgery is what is known as ADJUVANT chemotherapy.
These doctors have shown that if a lung cancer is found early (at least stages II and III) and is able to be removed surgically, if the person then receives chemotherapy with a chemotherapy medication known as Cisplatin accompanied by another chemotherapy medicine known as Vinorelbine (also called Navelbine), the person who receives chemotherapy this way after surgery, will have a significantly lower risk of having the cancer return compared to a person only had surgery to remove the cancer and did not receive any chemotherapy following the surgery.
These doctors at the Cross Cancer Institute in Canada and in an accompanying editorial written by Dr. Jean-Yves Douillard of the Centre Rene Gauducheau for Medical Oncology in St Herblain, France, have noted that even after following these patients for over 9 years after their surgery and/or chemotherapy, the patients who received surgery AND THEN chemotherapy lived longer and had less chances for their cancers to return compared with patients who received ONLY surgery and DID NOT receive chemotherapy after their surgery.
Thus, in conclusion, these studies show that if one has surgery to remove a lung cancer that has been found early, it is important and it makes perfect sense to ask one’s doctor about the possibility of receiving chemotherapy after the surgery in order to do all that is possible to keep the cancer from coming back. All of these concepts and more are covered in very easy to understand language in the Lung Cancer audio CD available on the www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com web site.

Lung Cancer Treatments

RemwesMedical — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:05:26 +0000

The treatments that are available for lung cancer are as follows:
1. SURGERY. When someone is found with lung cancer, the first and most important determination is to decide if the cancer can be removed surgically. The decision whether to allow surgery or not is based on the size of the tumor when it is found (what is known as the stage of the lung cancer) as well as the condition of the person with the cancer. The tumor may be small enough to remove surgically, but the person may be too sick to tolerate the surgery because of other conditions such as heart disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
2. CHEMOTHERAPY. Once the decision has been made that surgery is not possible, the next decision is whether to give chemotherapy as treatment for the lung cancer. Traditionally, chemotherapy has always been a form of treatment for lung cancer whereby a liquid is given through a tube that is attached to a needle that is inserted into a vein. This treatment is given either in the doctor’s office or in the hospital. Chemotherapy has various side effects including the possibility of nausea and/or vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, lack of appetite, a lowering of the body’s blood cells and an increased risk for infections.
3. NEWER FORMS OF CHEMOTHERAPY. There are newer forms of chemotherapy that are being developed and used these days which are very different from the past traditional chemotherapy. A welcome change with regards to these new chemotherapy treatments is that these treatments are now often available as a pill. This means that with these newer treatments the person with lung cancer does not have to come to the doctor’s office or the hospital regularly any more for regular chemotherapy treatments. They can now just take a pill at home and only come to the doctor’s office for scheduled check ups.
4. RADIATION THERAPY. Occasionally, there is a need for a form of treatment for lung cancer known as radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is different from chemotherapy in that radiation therapy is basically a light that is delivered to the area with the cancer. Chemotherapy is either a liquid that is given or a pill that is taken and the medicine then circulates all through the body. Radiation therapy, on the other hand, is a light that one “shines” only on the area with the problem. Therefore, if the cancer spreads to a bone and that bone has pain because the cancer has moved there, radiation therapy can be given to that bone in order to decrease the pain. Radiation therapy can also be given to stop the person from coughing up blood as a result of the growth of the cancer.
All of the concepts and information given above, and many more, are covered thoroughly and in very easy to understand language in the Lung Cancer audio CD available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com.

Metastatic Lung Cancer

RemwesMedical — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:22:19 +0000

When lung cancer spreads beyond the original area or spot where the cancer started, this is what is known as metastasis. Following with this thinking then, when a lung cancer is a spread cancer, this is what is known as a metastatic lung cancer.

Metastasis (or spread) of lung cancer can occur in two different forms.
Metastasis of lung cancer can occur as a LOCAL metastasis or a DISTANT metastasis from the original area where the cancer started.

LOCAL METASTASIS: As the name implies, local metastasis are metastasis (or spread of the cancer) to areas nearby where the tumor originated. Examples of local metastasis are, for example, if the lung cancer spreads to the lymph nodes that are near where the cancer originated. Other examples of local metastasis (or local spread) is if the cancer grows right where it started and it grows into the overlying chest wall and the ribs. These are examples of local metastasis.

DISTANT METASTASIS: Distant metastasis, also as the name implies, are metastasis that occur far away from where the cancer started. Thus, if the cancer starts in a spot in the lungs and spreads to, for example, the bones or the liver or the brain, these are all examples of distant metastasis.

TREATMENT: Local metastasis typically are a better occurrence (in terms of prognosis) than distant metastasis. When the lung cancer spreads locally, sometimes it does not spread too far locally and the lung cancer is still able to be removed surgically. This is what is described in the section which describes the Stage system for lung cancer in this set of lung cancer articles on this web site. The stage of the lung cancer when it is found, tells us just how far the cancer has spread and the ability for the person to have surgery or to not have surgery as a result of that spread.
Distant metastasis are usually unable to have surgery and the treatment for lung cancer that has developed distant metastasis is usually chemotherapy or radiation therapy. As with so many things in life, there are occasional exceptions to this. If a person has distant metastasis from the lung cancer to the brain or to the liver, for example, sometimes these distant metastasis to these organs are small enough that the metastasis themselves may be able to be removed surgically.

All of these concepts and many others are discussed in calm and easy to understand language in the audio CD on Lung Cancer available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com.