#1 Lung Cancer Symptom and Lung Cancer Treatment

Knowing the types of lung cancer is important in treating them. There are two major types of lung cancers. They are Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and Non-SCLC. The SCLC type is that which spreads to other parts of the body very fast. SCLC is treated mostly with chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also combined with surgery or radiation therapy to treat Small Cell Lung Cancer. With the help of a surgery samples are taken out of the tumor to determine the type of cancer a person has. Sometimes lymph nodes are also removed to ascertain the presence of cancer in it. Once the type of cancer is determined the treatment is started.

Chemotherapy is used to stop the growth and the spread of the lung cancer beyond the lungs. Apart from stopping the growth with the chemotherapy the existing tumors in others parts of the body are treated with radiation therapy. You may consult a radiation oncologist for radiation therapy even if cancer is not present in areas like brain. An oncologist may suggest you to have a radiation therapy in the brain to prevent the cancer from being spread to this important part in your body. This type of treatment of the brain with radiation therapy is called prophylactic cranial irradiation. Proper consultation is to be done with the doctor and the patient since radiation may affect the function of the brain if it is exposed to radiation. Sometimes the passage of radiation in an attempt to remove cancerous growth in the spine and bones may not succeed but it may bring in comfort for the patient by relieving some of the symptoms of cancer.

A Non Small Cell Lung Cancer spreads very slowly to the other parts as it grows slowly than the SCLC type of cancer. Early stages of diagnosis of cancer can be treated with surgery. Apart from surgery radiation or chemotherapy can be used to slow down the growth of the cancerous cells and also to relieve the symptoms of cancer. Radiation therapy of treating NSCLC can be done is patient who cannot go for surgery due to some medical conditions. If the lung cancer is spread to the lymph nodes then radiation therapy is the best way to treat cancer. Even if the nearby tissues of the lymph are affected by cancer then radiation therapy is the best option. Pain due to tumors can be reduced if radiation therapy is given to the patient. Radiotherapy makes the patient to breathe easily by making the airways open. Hence it is important to diagnose the type of cancer that is present in the patient and the areas that are affected by the cancer. The first step will be to stop the growth of cancer cells and then to treat them with an appropriate therapy.

Statistics reveal that about 20% of the lung cancers are SCLC and 80% of the cancers are Non-SCLC. The SCLC type of lung cancer is also called the oat cell carcinomas. Based on the type of cells the Non-SCLC type is further categorized as Adenocarcinomas, Squamous cell carcinomas, and large cell carcinomas. The adenocarcinomas are found in smoker as well as non-smokers. The squamous carcinomas are found in the central chest area. The large cell carcinomas are the undifferentiated carcinomas and these are the least common type. The other types of lung cancer that can occur in a person are the Bronchial carcinoids and cancers that affect the supporting tissues of the lungs and blood vessels. Cancers of the lung can also occur as a result of spreading of the cancer from other parts to the lungs. In such cases the cancerous growths are found scattered in the lungs and most often on the peripheral lungs.

Staging of lung cancer is done to identify the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body. the prognosis of the patient is determined using the stage of the cancer in which the patient is in. with staging the way the patient should be treated for cancer is also determined. The Non-Small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is divided into stages from I to IV. During stage one the cancer is found only in the lung and it is in the early stages with small tumors. In stage II and III the cancer is limited to the chest and the tumors are large and more invasive. In Stage IV the lung cancer will be spread to the other parts of the body through the bloodstream and the lymphatic system. The most affected part due to this kind of spread of the cancer is the brain. This kind of spreading of the Stage IV lung cancer is called Metastatic cancer. The area affected is called the metastases.

The stage IV lung cancer can spread to the bones, liver, and the adrenal glands apart from being spread to the brain. Diagnosis during stage IV lung cancer is done through normal chest x-rays, CT scans, bone scans, and blood tests. Bone scans done during the stage IV lung cancer might reveal metastases in the bone. In this test a radioactive material is injected to the bloodstream so that the metastases absorb the radioactive material more. Scanning done to locate the radioactive material reveals the metastases. This is recorded permanently. Blood tests done during Stage IV lung cancer also reveal the presence of metastases. For example an increased level of calcium in the blood indicates the presence of metastases in the bone. An increased level of enzymes like aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase indicates the presence of metastases in the liver. Such abnormalities in the blood can be revealed through blood tests which could be an indication of the spread of the cancer to the bones and the liver.

The first step to any cancer treatment is to stop the growth of the cancerous cells and then to treat them or remove them. As a precautionary step areas like the brain are treated with radiotherapy to prevent the spread of cancer to those areas. This is done by an radiation oncologist. Exposing the brain to radiation may have side effects. Hence a patient has to discuss with the doctor before radiotherapy for the brain is done. Depending on the area to which cancer has spread treatments are also combined. For example combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be done to treat Stage IV lung cancer if it is confined to the chest wall, diaphragm and lymph nodes. Surgery is also done to treat some areas during stage IV lung cancer. Clinical trials of some new effective treatments are under way. One such treatment is the photodynamic therapy. This treatment is tried for person having SCLC that occurs frequently and causes obstruction in the airway. For more experimental therapies you may consult your doctor.

Squamous cell lung cancer is one of the pulmonary neoplasms that are not benign and hence, always-additional clinical emphasis is being given whenever a patient affected with this type of pulmonary neoplasm is presented to the thoracic specialist or the oncologist. It is to be understood that squamous cell lung cancer is epithelial in origin. As for the development is concerned, this type of neoplasm bears no limitations in the growth or spread within the different lobes of lungs.    

Squamous cell lung cancer often bears the smoking of cigarettes or cigar either by the patient or being in the smoking room routinely as etiological factors for the occurrence. However, the sign and symptom of this type of lung cancer are almost similar to any type of a severe pulmonary neoplasm and invariably signs like coughing with blood materials in the coughed up material, difficulty in breathing which is termed as Dyspnea in medical term and weight loss.

Since this squamous cell lung cancer is being considered as destructive neoplasm in lungs, additional care is paid towards incorporating the effective supportive therapy in the regular anti cancerous therapy, involving multi drug combinations. The supportive therapy may include usage of suitable corticosteroid drugs like prednisolone in a routine form and it is noteworthy to mention that in some patients, a repository form of this corticosteroid may also be used to fulfill the need of constant delivery.

Surgery is also being considered as therapy in cases of squamous cell lung cancer. But, if the spread of this is over a wide area, it becomes impossible.

The squamous cell lung cancer in many patients tends to spread to other tissues including kidney or bone. Suppose, if it spreads to bones, most of the times, mandible or skull may get affected and in such cases increased density with occurrence of periosteal new bones may be noticed.

Squamous cell lung cancer at times need confirmation from few more pathologists who are specialized in such diagnosis and however, the clinical effects seen in one patient affected by this type of lung caner may not get reflected in other patients and the factors like target organ of caner cells, extent of compromise by the immune status of the patient, effect of medications including alternate drug therapy which may even include restrictions in multiple diets in order to avoid constant exposure to the carcinogens that have some association with food components etc. All these indicate the multiple factors are associated with the production of this type of lung cancer and hence, one has to know on many updated technical information on various pathogenesis and factors associated with exhibition of signs and symptoms of lung cancer involving squamous cells.

Radioactive implants have been used as one of the treatment measure in cases of squamous cell lung cancer. In all these cases, attempt is being made effectively to place the radioactive implants subsequent to the surgical procedure and these surgically placed implants have capabilities to emit constant waves of radiation. However, it is to be understood that the spread of the squamous cell lung cancer is very rapid and hence, the treatment may not give 100 per cent guarantee on the recovery of the affected patient from this type of pulmonary neoplasm.