After the lung cancer has been thoroughly investigated and staged, oncologists can set up a treatment plan. This differs from person to person and from type of cancer. As said before, every person with (lung) cancer is unique, and every cancer stage has its own treatment plan. Sometimes you only need surgery and can move on with your life – except for the (yearly) check-ups once you’re in remission. It may also just be that someone is so sick that they need every possible treatment, for instance, surgery, chemo, and radiation.
Surgery
This is self-explanatory; it involves a surgeon removing a part or pieces of the lung affected by cancer. If the tumor is too big or has spread to other parts of the lung, then no more surgery can be done, and they move on to one of the following treatments.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a drug specially designed to shrink/eradicate cancer cells. The drugs can be oral pills, fluids given through IV, or both. Often chemotherapy comes with a lot of side effects such as nausea & vomiting, neuropathy, hair loss, infertility, and weight gain. Another option that works to treat lung cancer is radiotherapy. When you undergo this treatment, high-energy X-rays are used to eradicate (remaining) cancer cells. Often this is done in combination with chemotherapy, where the tumor is first reduced by medication and then irradiated.
There are so many ways to treat cancer these days, the above-mentioned are just a few examples. Sometimes they are combined, but it can also happen that these treatments do not help (anymore), so other options should be sought. That’s why it’s very important to do your own extensive online research and stay up to date about new treatments. Do your symptoms not quite match up? Then check out other cancers here. Have you already been diagnosed with lung cancer, but aren’t satisfied with your treatment plan? Doing a second opinion in another hospital or oncology center is always a good idea. Start your search today:
