Lung Cancer Treatment Options: Beating Lung Cancer

Executif summary Lung Cancer Treatment By Gretchen Reese

Once a lung cancer has been staged, the physician and patient can now discuss between themselves treatment options that will be necessary. The characteristics of a lung tumor helps doctors separate patients into two groups: people with low risk of cancer recurrence and people with high risk of cancer recurrence.

Surgical resection is done with patients whose cancers have not yet spread beyond the lung. Other approaches include anterior limited thoractomy (ALT), thoractomy performed on the frontal chest using a small incision; anterioraxillary thoracotomy (AAT), thoracotomy performed on the frontal chest near the underarm; and posterolateral thoracotomy (PLT) thoracotomy performed on the back/side region of the trunk. ALT may result in less surgical blood loss, less postoperative drainage, and less postoperative pain than standard thoracotomy.

Lately, other less invasive procedures are being performed for the removal of tumorous tissue. For example, the video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT), otherwise known as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Photodynamic therapy is most suitable for patients having inoperable lung cancer. The laser light is used to wipe out the sensitized tumor tissue.

Skin photosensitivity or light sensitivity is the side effect of PDT. The healing potential of PDT is the most exciting aspect of this therapy in lung cancer patients whose tumors are unseen on chest X-rays. Radiotherapy - better known as radiation therapy - uses high energy radiation in order to kill cancer cells.

Lung Cancer Treatment

Executif summary Lung Cancer Treatment By Steve Valentino

The most commonly used treatments for lung cancer are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The exact treatment a lung cancer patient receives will depend on several factors. Non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for about 80 percent of lung cancer cases, is treated depending on its stage at diagnosis.

Lung surgery is the mainstay of treatment for the early stages of lung cancer. As non-small cell cancer spreads within the chest, it is treated with some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Once cancer has spread to other parts of the body, chemotherapy and radiotherapy replace surgery as the main treatment options. Small cell lung cancer, which is found in about 20 percent of lung cancer patients, is more aggressive and more likely to have

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