Archive for the ‘Treatments Of Lung Cancer’ Category
Lung Cancer Treatment
Lung Cancer Treatment depends on a number of factors, including the type of lung cancer (small cell or small), the size, location and extent of the tumor, and the patient’s overall health. You can use many different treatments and combinations of treatments to control lung cancer or to improve the quality of life by reducing symptoms.
Surgery is an operation to remove the cancer. The type of surgery the doctor performs 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 (can not be removed by surgery) because of the size or site, and some patients can not have surgery for other medical reasons.
Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Even after it has been removed lung cancer, cancer cells may still be present in nearby tissue or elsewhere in the body. Chemotherapy may be used to control cancer growth or to relieve symptoms. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection into a vein (intravenously) or through a catheter, a thin tube is placed into a large vein and remains there for as long as necessary. Some anticancer drugs are given as pills or tablets.
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Side Effects of Radiotherapy
Unfortunately, radiation therapy also produces side effects, although usually limited to the area where applicable. The appearance and intensity of these side effects depends on the technique used, the total radiation dose administered, the volume of the irradiated area and susceptibility and associated diseases of each patient.
Side effects of radiation are the result of an acute inflammatory process and / or chronic localized to the skin and organs exposed to radiation. One can distinguish between general side effects of radiotherapy treatment and specific treatment of lung cancer:
- General effects:
The most important overall effect is tiredness or fatigue. Often during radiotherapy the patient is more tired than usual. Usually the result of the combined effects of treatment itself, other associated treatments and commuting to the hospital. The fatigue is temporary and disappears some time after completion of radiotherapy.
Although in most cases you can maintain normal activity levels, rest after the daily session of radiotherapy and no intense efforts or activities which may increase tiredness.
- Specific effects of the treatment area:
* Skin reactions (radiodermatitis): The radiation causes skin irritation only in the treatment area. The skin of the treated area can be altered very similar to a sunburn, although it is a rare effect with current techniques. At two or three weeks after starting therapy may appreciate the same redness (erythema). As treatment progresses, the skin area is becoming more pigmented and dark coloration, which disappears in one or two months after completion of radiotherapy.
What Is Radiotherapy?
Radiotherapy is the use of high energy ionizing radiation in order to stop the growth and division of cancer cells in the area where they are used. It is used as local therapy (in the area where the tumor) or locoregional therapy (when including also the nodes near the tumor).
In the case of lung cancer, external radiation is applied, ie, radiation is administered from the outside by a radiation-generating equipment (linear accelerator). The advantage of external beam radiation is not require admission to hospital or is painful for the patient, and is managed by specialists in radiation oncology.
Social relations, labor and patient’s family need not be affected by the fact be receiving this therapy. With external beam therapy radiation is not apparent at any time during or after treatment. Thus, once the daily treatment, the patient may be in contact with others, does not emit any radioactivity.
Chemotherapy Side Effects
What are the most common side effects?
The most common side effects of chemotherapy include:
* Nausea and vomiting.
* Hair loss.
* Fatigue and malaise.
* Increased likelihood of bruising and bleeding.
* Anemia.
* Infections.
Other problems or symptoms that may occur chemotherapy are:
* Intestinal problems.
* Changes in appetite and weight.
* Sores in the mouth, gums and / or throat.
* Problems with the nerves and muscles.
* Dry skin.
* Irritation of the kidneys and bladder.
* Problems related to sexuality and fertility of reproductive organs.
Chemotherapy Does it hurt?
Many drugs used in chemotherapy to be administered directly into the blood, the vein or injection into muscle, causing a little discomfort.
Moreover, if the drug causes pain, burning, cold or other odd sensation, contact your doctor or nurse immediately, as there may be a small problem of administration.
What is Chemotherapy?
It is called chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. Sometimes this type of treatment is called colloquially just “chemo.”
The advantage – and problem – of chemotherapy is that it acts throughout the body, so that, in addition to destroying cancer cells in the tumor and those that have metastasized and have spread to other parts of the body away from the primary tumor ( original), it can also affect normal healthy cells.
The drugs used in chemotherapy kill rapidly growing cells throughout the body. The cause of side effects is precisely the harm done to healthy tissue, healthy cells.
Normal cells are most likely to be affected are:
* Blood-producing cells in the bone marrow,
* Cells in the mouth,
* The digestive tract (especially the gut),
* Reproductive system cells
* Hair follicles.
Treatment For Every Stage Of Lung Cancer (II)
Limited Stage
In general, chemotherapy is used as primary treatment, with the use of several drugs in combination.
With chemotherapy is used radiotherapy to the chest. Patients who respond well to initial treatment is administered, so preventive radiation to the head. This is because the brain is one of the sites where metastases frequently occur.
In most patients, these tumors resolve with treatment, but soon reappear becoming resistant to treatment. The survival rate of two years in the limited stage, is 40% to 50% but is reduced by 10% to 20% for five years.
Many studies are underway to test the effectiveness of other treatments such as immunotherapy or gene therapy.
Extensive stage
The prognosis at this stage is very bad if left untreated cancer. Chemotherapy may be used to treat symptoms and flatter short-term survival.
Treatment with two or more drugs can shrink tumors in about 70% to 80% of these patients. Radiation therapy is also used to control symptoms and prevent the occurrence of brain metastases.
Treatment For Every Stage Of Lung Cancer (I)
Stage 0
At this stage do not require chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Surgery may completely remove the cancer. The type of surgery is a segmentectomy, ie the removal of a lung wedge.
Stage I
Segmentectomy is generally used for smaller tumors or for patients with worse physical condition, or lobectomy to remove the tumor.
The effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy, is being tested in clinical trials. Although micrometastases is useful for those that have not been identified and have not been removed by surgery.
If the tumor is at the edge of the lung tissue probably not have removed all the cancer cells, so radiation therapy is recommended.
Radiation therapy can be used as primary treatment if the patient, general condition, can not undergo surgery. The survival rate after five years in this stage is 65%.
Stage II
Used surgery: segmentectomy or lobectomy.
Radiation therapy can be used after surgery to ensure that it is not any cancer cells. It can also be used as primary therapy in those patients who can not be operated on by health problems. Chemotherapy may be used after surgery or radiotherapy.
The survival rate for patients who are in this stage of cancer is 40%.
Chemotherapy as a Lung Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy is the primary treatment option in most cases of SCLC. It can easily control the symptoms, which are often very pronounced in this type of cancer. However, the cures are rare and most often accrue past year or two.
Not all patients can be operated on as it will depend on whether they have sufficient capacity to withstand respiratory excision of part or all of the lung and how is your general condition.
In lung cancer, often used a combination of chemotherapeutic drugs. Some of these drugs can be given by mouth or by vein. When they reach the bloodstream, these drugs are spread throughout the body and act against cancer cells, destroying them. For this reason it is very useful in those cancers that have spread to other areas.
Chemotherapy can be given as primary treatment or as therapy to aid surgery. In many cases, chemotherapy is given before surgery, with the intention of reducing the tumor volume and pave the way for a surgeon. Even at times, some inoperable lung cancers become operable after several months of chemotherapy. It is also possible to receive chemotherapy after surgery, even when the entire tumor was removed successfully. The reason is that with this strategy avoids a percentage of relapse and end up healing more long-term patients. We know this kind of cancer treatment as adjuvant chemotherapy.
The choice of treatment of first or second line depends on the type of cancer, and ranges from non-small cell cancer or small cell.
Radiation Therapy For Lung Cancer
Radiation therapy uses high energy X-radiation to destroy cancer cells. It uses a device called a linear accelerator that sends rays to the affected area only.
This lung cancer treatment is used sometimes as a primary or principal in patients who can not undergo surgery. In this case, is not to cure but slow the progression of the disease, although some exceptional cases come to heal without surgery, radiation therapy alone.
Radiation therapy to the lung is often used to relieve an airway obstruction leading to cancer.
When radiotherapy is used as a secondary treatment after surgery is primarily used to destroy cells that have not been removed.
Another use for which radiotherapy is used to relieve cancer-causing symptoms such as pain, difficulty swallowing, and so on.
Treatments Of Lung Cancer
Treatment for these patients consist of a combination of several techniques that are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Each of them will be more effective than the other depending on the type of cancer and the stage where they are. In fact, treatment depends on four factors: the type and extent of spread of the tumor, the patient’s health status and functional status of the various body systems (heart, liver, kidney, neurological, etc.)..
Lung cancer surgery is the treatment modality most likely to be curative, therefore, is resorted to if all of the cancer can not be removed and respiratory status of the patient to tolerate the removal of the portion of lung to be removed.
Small cell lung cancers are very rarely operate, since it is almost always diagnosed extensive stage when only limited is operable. Approximately half of non-small lung cancers can be removed due to its extension. It is therefore essential that there are no lymph metastasis and central area of the chest (mediastinum) are free of tumor and the tumor has not invaded ineradicable structures as the trachea, the aorta or the pleura.
You can remove only a small portion of the lung, if the tumor is very localized, to be called wedge resection or segmentectomy.
If you removed a lobe of the lung is called lobectomy.
If you remove the entire lung, it is called pneumonectomy.