How To Distinguish Between The Different Types Of Lung Cancer Treatment?

Answer 1

There are several different treatments available for lung cancer - and these can be used to address most types of cancers - and which specific treatment is used in which specific situation will depend on a number of factors.

Lung cancer treatments are usually divided according to their anticipated efficacy in view of factors like the stage the cancer has reached, what type of lung cancer a specific patient is suffering from and the patient’s previous record as it relates to responding to treatment options. The further along the tumor is, for instance, the less likely the patient is to respond positively to treatment - surgery, radiation or chemotherapy - and it is usually at Stage 4 that treatment is confined to palliative care designed only to ease the patient’s suffering. Lung cancers can, furthermore, be classed as either Small Cell Lung Carcinomas (SCLCs) or Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas (NSCLCs), and, depending on exactly which type is present, treatment could include either chemotherapy or radiation or a combination of the two.

Should the cancer be diagnosed at an early stage, the primary treatment option would be surgery. With surgery, the overall objective would be to remove all or part of the tumor and thus halt - or at least significantly delay - the spread of the cancerous cells. Other treatment options include radiation and chemotherapy, and there is also the option of adjuvant chemotherapy, which is when the patient embarks upon a chemotherapy course after the surgical removal of a tumor.

Apart from the above three main lung cancer treatments, there are also several related options. Prophylactic cranial irradiation - radiation treatment administered to the brain - is, for instance, undergone when there is a distinct danger of the lung cancer’s metastasizing to the brain. There is also the fairly new procedure known as targeted therapy, which consists of the patient’s ingesting certain targeted agents - chemical substances - which are specifically designed to inhibit the growth of the cancerous cells at the molecular level.

Lung cancer is an extremely malignant form of the disease, and, despite all available treatment options, has the highest mortality rate of all the cancers.