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.

* Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing: Radiation causes changes in the lining of the mouth and throat (thrush), and also in the lining of the esophagus (esophagitis), being contiguous to the area of treatment. This inflammation of the mucous show his face at 2-3 weeks of starting treatment, as difficulty in swallowing certain foods, fundamentally sound. This condition often improves quickly after completion of radiotherapy.

* Difficulty breathing can increase or appear de novo dry cough and mild breathing difficulty.

* Other: There may be nausea. May also occur hair loss, usually final and that only affects the chest area.

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%.

Stage IIIA
Treatment at this stage will depend on where the tumor is located in the lung and whether lymph nodes are affected.

Chemotherapy is often used before surgery to shrink the tumor, to make it easier to complete removal.

When surgery can not be used to remove the tumor, radiation therapy. It is sometimes used brachytherapy which involves passing a laser through a bronchoscope to destroy part of the cancer within the trachea.

Survival rates range from 10% to 20%, although certain patients such as those with no cancer spread to lymph nodes have a better prognosis.

Stage IIIB
Because at this stage the cancer is widespread, surgery is not effective. Chemotherapy may be used together with radiotherapy. Or each one separately.

The survival rate is between 10% and 20% in those patients who enjoy a good health condition and may undergo a combination of both treatments. Those who can not, its index is 5%.

Stage IV
The aim of treatment at this stage is to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. It is not intended as a cure the cancer has spread to distant sites.

Chemotherapy or radiotherapy is used to reduce symptoms such as bone pain, symptoms due to nervous system, etc..

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.

The classification of small cell lung tumors is much simpler. In this type of cancer is spoken of limited stage and extensive stage.

The limited stage means that the tumor is confined to the hemithorax of origin, the mediastinum and supraclavicular nodes. This would be tolerable in the employment field of radiotherapy.

The extended period is one in which the cancer is too widespread to be included within the definition of limited stage, ie the cancer has spread to other lung, to lymph nodes in the other breast to distant organs, and so on.

Patients with limited stage of cancer may be effectively treated with radiation therapy. In those with extensive stage is not as applicable radiotherapy.