Is Tech Making lung cancer treatment Better or Worse?

Lung cancer treatment depends on the type of cancer, where it is located, and how far it has spread along with your general health. People with lung cancer treatment often get more than one kind of treatment. Any treatment can have side effects, but there may be ways to help manage or prevent them. Your care team will help you learn about the side effects of your specific treatment plan and what you can do about them.

Treating lung cancer according to stage

Lungcancer treatment depends on the stage of cancer. Surgery may be the only treatment needed if the cancer is caught very early. If cancer has spread beyond the lungs, chemotherapy may be recommended to destroy any remaining cancer cells.

Lung cancers are classified as either non-small cells or small cells. Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) represent about 85 percent of all cases. These tumors progress slowly, making them good candidates for surgery and radiation therapy. Small cell lung cancers (SCLC), which make up 15 percent of all lung cancers, increase and are more likely to have already spread by the time they are diagnosed. Chemotherapy is usually used to treat SCLCs.

Lung cancers that have not spread outside of the lung can usually be cured if treated with surgery and radiation therapy. If a tumor cannot be entirely removed by surgery, radiation can reduce its size and sometimes cure it. In some cases, chemotherapy will also be used before or after surgery to reduce the tumor’s size to be more easily removed by surgery.

Don’t smoke; stay fit and healthy.

Almost everyone who gets lung cancer dies from it. To be precise, the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with lung cancer is about 17%. This is a sobering statistic and one that has not improved much in the last twenty years. The problem with lung cancer is that it is often discovered too late after it has already spread to other vital organs.

For decades, smoking has been the leading cause of lung cancer in both men and women. Smokers have an estimated 10-20 times higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers. But not only are smokers at risk; even those who have never smoked can get lung cancer. How can you prevent this disease? Avoiding tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke, is the number one way to reduce your chance of getting lung cancer and smoking cessation, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and engaging in regular physical activity to keep your lungs strong and healthy.