lung cancer treatment – Cancer In Plain English – Cancer Information

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.

Lung Cancer Chemotherapy

RemwesMedical — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:53:53 +0000

The chemotherapy that is used to treat lung cancer is constantly evolving. As new treatments are discoverd and more effective ways of fighting lung cancer are found, these new treatments are incorporated into the fight against lung cancer.

TRADITIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY: Traditional chemotherapy has been used to treat lung cancer for decades. This is typically a liquid that is dripped slowly into tubing that is connected to a needle that goes to the vein of the person with lung cancer. Traditional chemotherapy is fairly aggressive and unfortunately hurts both the normal blood tissue cells as well as the cancer cells. The goals of traditional chemotherapy, however, is to kill more of the cancer cells than the normal body cells with this therapy.

CHEMOTHERAPY AGENTS: Studies have shown that it is best to use two different chemotherapy drugs at the same time to treat lung cancer. These two different chemotherapy drugs are usually given together on various schedules. Studies were done to see if it might perhaps be possible to get better results against the lung cancer if three chemotherapy drugs were used together instead of two and these studies showed that it was no better to use three drugs instead of two, but it made the person much more sick with side effects. Therefore, the standard therapy at this time is that when traditional chemotherapy is used to treat lung cancer, two chemotherapy drugs are used at the same time. This has been shown to be better than just using one chemotherapy drug or three chemotherapy drugs at the same time.

NEWER CHEMOTHERAPY: The newer chemotherapy agents that are being developed and used these days for the treatment of lung cancer are drugs that do not kill both good and bad cells as the traditional chemotherapy does. These newer drugs do not kill cells at all. What they do is that they interfere with the actual mechanisms that the cancer cell uses to make the cancer, keep it alive and to allow itself to grow. This is a new and promising way to treat lung cancer since it provides therapy that can be taken as a pill and does not require a needle dripping fluid into a vein. There are two main newer chemotherapy agents which work this way, which are being used more and more these days. Those two agents are a drug called Erlotinib (also called Tarceva) and Nilotinib (also called Iressa). These drugs attack the actual signal that the cancer cell uses to tell the cancer to grow and make more cancer and these drugs do their best to shut off those signals. These newer drugs are fascinating new treatment possibilities in the fight against lung cancer.

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

Lung Cancer Staging

RemwesMedical — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:20:53 +0000

When a lung cancer is found, one of the most important and life-saving treatments available is the possibility of surgically removing the cancer. Unfortunately, this is not always possible since many times, the cancer has spread too far by the time it has been found. A system has been created which allows doctors to know if the person with lung cancer is able to undergo surgery. This system is one whereby lung cancers are classified into stages when they are first found. These stages, in turn, tell the cancer specialist and the cancer surgeon if the person with cancer is able to have surgery or not.
Lung Cancers are of two basic types. Those two types are Non – Small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cancer. Each of these two different types of lung cancer have different staging systems.
NON SMALL CELL LUNG CANCERS. Non – small cell lung cancers are staged as stage I through stage IV, with stage I being the best and stage IV being the worst. Each of these stages, in turn can be subclassified into an either “A” or a “B”. Thus, it is possible to have a Stage I “A” and a stage I “B” depending on how much cancer is found. Accordingly, it is possible to have a stage II “A” or a stage II “B”, stage III “A” or stage III “B” and so forth and so on.
The general agreement among cancer specialist physicians worldwide is that when a non – small cell lung cancer is found from a stage I through a stage III “A” surgery is still a possibility, but if the cancer is felt to be a stage III “B” or greater, surgery is then felt to not be able to be performed as the cancer is too far advanced by stage III “B” and beyond in order to perform surgery.
The second type of lung cancer, the type known as Small Cell Lung Cancers is much more aggressive than Non – Small Cell Lung Cancers. Surgery is felt to not be possible for Small Cell Lung Cancers – regardless of the stage in which they are found. As a result of this, Small Cell Lung Cancers are staged not as stage I, II, III or IV as Non – Small Cell Lung Cancers are, Small Cell Lung Cancers are only staged as “Limited” or “Extensive” stage. Thus, if your doctor states that the cancer is “stage II” or “stage III”, you will know that he or she is referring to a Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (which is the less aggressive type of lung cancer), since Small Cell Lung Cancers are not staged with numbers.
All of these principles are covered in excellent detail and in easy to understand language on the Lung Cancer audio CD that is available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com web site.

Lung Cancer Surgery

RemwesMedical — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:15:24 +0000

Surgery for lung cancer is the only treatment that truly offers the possibility of cure. Unfortunately, it is not available for many people who develop lung cancer. Many times, by the time we discover the lung cancer, it has spread so far that surgery is no longer a possibility.

WHAT DETERMINES IF A PERSON MAY HAVE SURGERY AS TREATMENT FOR THEIR LUNG CANCER? The possibility of surgery for a person with lung cancer depends on two main factors: 1) the Stage of the lung cancer when it is found and 2) the ability of the person to tolerate the surgery.

STAGE: The stage of the lung cancer is a way of saying, “How much had the cancer spread by the time we found it?”. The STAGES in lung cancer depend on the TYPE of lung cancer. Lung cancer is divided into two main types: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers and Small Cell Lung Cancers.

NON SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER STAGES: The Stages for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer are Stages I, II, III and IV with I being the best and IV being the worst. Each of these stages is further divided into A or B. Thus it is possible to have a stage IA or IB and a stage IIA or IIB and so forth and so on. The generally accepted standard is that lung cancers that are spread greater than Stage IIIA when we find them are usually not felt to be candidates for surgery. After Stage IIIA, the cancer is felt to be too far advanced in order to have surgery.

SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER STAGES: The stages for Small Cell Lung Cancer are only two. Those two are either “Limited Stage” or “Extensive Stage”. Small cell lung cancer is so aggressive that surgery is not an option for this kind of lung cancer. It does not matter if we find a small cell lung cancer in a “Limited” stage or an “Extensive” stage, surgery is not an option for this type of lung cancer (i.e. Small cell lung cancer) because it is felt to be so aggressive that when we find it, it has already always spread and therefore surgery is not an option.

WHAT DETERMINES THE ABILITY OF A PATIENT TO TOLERATE SURGERY? The ability of a person to tolerate surgery is the second most important factor which determines if a person with lung cancer may or may not have surgery as treatment for their lung cancer. A person may not be able to tolerate lung cancer surgery if, for example, they have advanced: 1) Heart Disease or 2) Emphysema or 3) Brittle Diabetes or other medical problems. Thus, even if the cancer is small enough to be surgically removed when we first find it, unfortunately it may be that the person with the cancer is so sick because of other medical problems, that he or she still may not be able to have the desired surgery to try to remove the lung cancer.

All of the principles mentioned above and many more are explained in calm and easy-to-understand language on the Lung Cancer audio CD available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com.

Lung Cancer Treatment

RemwesMedical — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:17:48 +0000

The treatment of lung cancer depends on various factors, but one main factor is the type of lung cancer. Lung cancers can be divided into two basic types. One type is called a Small Cell Lung Cancer and the other type is called a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Small Cell lung cancer is the more aggressive type. It is so aggressive that usually when it is first discovered, surgery is not even an option. The thinking is that it will have already spread by the time it is found and, as such, surgery is not an option. The second type of lung cancer is the Non-Small Cell lung cancer. Non-Small Cell lung cancer is less aggressive than Small Cell. With Non-Small Cell lung cancer, if one finds it early enough, surgery IS a possibility and, if found early enough, a real cure is possible with Non-Small Cell lung cancers.