Lung Cancer Treatment Options
Your treatment
plan will depend on several factors, including the location of
the tumor, the stage of the cancer and your age and general health. Your
physician will discuss each type of treatment and how it might change the
way you look, talk, eat or breathe. Treatment options include one or a combination
of the following:
Surgery
The objective of surgery is to remove the tumor and some of the healthy
tissue around it. This procedure reduces the chance that cancer cells will
be left in the area. The type of surgery performed depends on the location
of the tumor in the lung. An operation to remove only a small part of the
lung is called a segmental or wedge resection. When the surgeon removes
an entire lobe of the lung, the procedure is called a lobectomy. Pneumonectomy
is the removal of an entire lung. Some tumors are inoperable (cannot be
removed by surgery) because of the size or location, and some patients cannot
have surgery for other medical reasons.
Common side effects of surgery are pain or weakness in the chest and the
arm and shortness of breath. Patients may need several weeks or months to
regain their energy and strength.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy, which also is called radiotherapy, uses high-energy
rays to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy also may be used to relieve
symptoms such as shortness of breath. Radiation is delivered by a technique
called external beam radiation, which means X-rays are used to treat the
affected area. It also can be treated using internal radiation therapy,
which places radioactive materials directly into or near the area where
the cancer cells are found. Before you undergo radiation, a radiation oncologist
and physicist plan the precise delivery of the radiation to minimize radiation
to your vital organs and maximize the radiation to the affected area.
Radiation therapy can affect normal cells near the cancerous cells.
Side effects of radiation therapy depend mainly on the part of
the body that is treated and the treatment dose. Common side effects of
radiation therapy are a dry, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, fatigue,
skin changes at the site of treatment and loss of appetite.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs enter
the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. Chemotherapy
may be recommended following surgery to kill any cancer cells
that still may be present in nearby tissue or that may have spread
outside the area of your tumor. Chemotherapy may be used to control
cancer growth or to relieve symptoms. Most chemotherapy drugs
are given IV or catheter. Some are given in the form of a pill.
Chemotherapy side effects may include nausea and vomiting, hair
loss, mouth sores, and fatigue. These occur because in addition
to attacking cancerous cells, chemotherapy affects healthy cells — especially
fast-growing cells in your digestive tract, hair and bone marrow.
Not everyone has side effects; today there are better ways to control
side effects, if they occur.