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Lung Cancer

Causes & symptoms | The Diagnosis | Questions

Treatment
There are a few different types of treatment for lung cancer (with different aims):

Surgery
This is used to remove all the cancer in the hope of a cure

Chemotherapy
This is a course of drugs given to kill or control the cancer cells

Radiotherapy
This is a course of x-rays given to kill or control the cancer

Laser treatment
This is used to control the cancer cells. It is used to unblock airways full of tumour, but it does not cure the cancer.

What Types Of Treatment Are Used?

Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be used alone, or together, to treat lung cancer of the lung.

Your doctor will plan your treatment by taking into consideration a number of factors including:

your age

general health

the type and size of the tumour, what it looks like under the microscope

whether it has spread beyond the lung

Surgery

When the tumour is away from the centre of the chest and there is little or no spread

The type of operation chosen will depend upon the size and position of the tumour

Wedge resection: remove a small part of the lung
Lobectomy: removal of a lobe of the lung
Pneumonectomy: removal of an entire lung

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy treats cancer by using high energy rays which destroy the cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells

It may be used alone or after surgery to treat all types of lung cancer.

There are two kinds of radiotherapy: External and internal radiotherapy

Side effects

Radiotherapy for lung cancer seldom causes side effects although there may sometimes be some nausea

If you do have problems with sickness, they can usually be treated with drugs. The main problem you are likely to notice, towards the end of your course of treatment, is that you have difficulty in swallowing, and you may find that drinking very hot or cold liquids is uncomfortable

These side effects should disappear gradually once your course of treatment is over, but it is important to let your doctor know if they continue

Radiotherapy can cause hair loss in the area being treated, but the hair usually grows back again within a few months once the treatment is over

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of special anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells

They work by disrupting the growth of cancer cells

This treatment is used for most people with small cell Lung cancer

The drugs are sometimes given as tablets or, more usually, intravenously (by injection into a vein)

Chemotherapy is given as a course of treatment usually lasting a few days

This is followed by a rest period of a few weeks which allows your body to recover from any side effects of the treatment

The number of courses you have will depend on the type of cancer you have and how well it is responding to the drugs.

Chemotherapy may be given to you as an outpatient but often it will mean spending a few days in hospital

Side effects
Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and sometimes hair loss, mouth sores and small ulcers.

Laser Therapy And Airway Stents
Sometimes lung cancer causes breathlessness by obstructing the trachea (the wind pipe) or one of the main airways which lead air from the wind pipe into the lungs. If the obstruction is caused by a tumour within the airway it can often be relieved by laser therapy which burns the tumour out of the airway. Laser therapy does not destroy the tumour completely but it does provide worthwhile relief of symptoms.