Posts Tagged ‘Lung Cancer’

Chemotherapy – a method to treat lung cancer.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs given by mouth or injection to destroy cancer cells that may have spread beyond the tumor. There are many types of chemotherapy drugs, and they may be given in combination with each other, and also in combination with surgery and radiation. Chemotherapy may be given as pills, as an intravenous infusion, or as a combination of the two. Chemotherapy treatments usually are given in an outpatient setting. A combination of drugs is given in a series of treatments, called cycles, over a period of weeks to months, with breaks in between cycles.

Both NSCLC and SCLC may be treated with chemotherapy.

- Small-cell lung cancer: Chemotherapy is the mainstay of the treatment for SCLC. Radiation therapy is often used along with chemotherapy to treat lung tumors that have not spread beyond the chest or other organs. Surgery is not commonly used in SCLC due to its tendency to spread quickly.

- Non-small-cell lung cancer: Patients diagnosed as having NSCLC in its earliest stages are candidates for surgical resection with a realistic hope of curing the disease. More recently, chemotherapy is added after surgery to treat patients with any tumor spread to the lymph nodes or to treat large tumors that remain after surgery.

When Is Chemotherapy Used?

- As an adjunct (in addition) to surgery.
- To shrink a tumor before surgery.
- To cure cancer.
- To prolong life in those with advanced cancer.

Side effects of Chemotherapy

Chemotherapeutic drugs affect normal cells, too. It is important to know side effects of chemotherapy vary depending on the type of chemotherapy and how the patient responds.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Hair loss.
- Fatigue.
- Infections.
- Bleeding.
- Mouth sores.
- Loss of appetite.
- Diarrhea.
- Weight loss.
- Anemia.

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How can lung cancer be treated ?

The most important factors are the histopathologic (diseased tissue) type of lung cancer and the stage of the cancer. Once the stage of the lung cancer has been determined, the oncology team and the patient work together to develop a treatment plan.
About one-third of lung cancer patients are diagnosed with localized disease that may be treated by surgical resection. Another third of patients have disease that has already spread to the lymph nodes. In these cases, radiation therapy along with chemotherapy and occasionally surgery is used. The last third of patients may have tumors that have already spread to other parts of the body via the blood stream and are typically treated with chemotherapy and sometimes with radiation therapy for the relief of symptoms.

Surgery

Surgical resection (cutting away) of the tumor generally is indicated for cancer that has not spread beyond the lung. Surgery may not be possible if the cancer is too close to the trachea or if the person has other serious conditions (such as severe heart or lung disease) that would limit their ability to tolerate an operation. Thoracotomy, which is performed throught the chest wall, and median sternotomy, which is performed by cutting through the breastbone, are standard methods used for lung cancer surgery.
After surgery, potential side effects include:
- Pain: One of the most common side effects associated with surgery. Some surgery for lung cancer requires cutting through the ribs and/or cutting a nerve. This can take several months to heal.
- Infection: Infections at the site of the wound and inside the body are another possible side effect. Antibiotics give by a doctor are able to treat most infections.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) may be effective for the treatment of lung cancer. It uses high-energy rays, similar to X-rays, but stronger, to kill or shrink cancer cells. Radiation therapy is usually spaced over a number of weeks or months because the doses needed to kill cancer cells cannot be given all at once. The number of treatments a patient receives depends on the type and extent of the tumor, as well as the radiation dosage and how the patient is affected by the treatment. It has many uses in lung cancer:
- As primary treatment.
- Before surgery to shrink the tumor.
- After surgery to eliminate any cancer cells that remain in the treated area.
- To treat lung cancer that has spread to the brain or other areas of the body.
Besides attacking the tumor, radiotherapy can help to relieve some of the symptoms it causes such as shortness of breath. Most often, radiation therapy is delivered by the external beam technique, which aims a beam of x-rays directly at the tumor.

SIDE EFFECTS :
- Fatigue.
- Eating problems.
- Hair Loss.
- Skin reactions.