Understanding, your lung cancer diagnosis and treatment options.
By ShareMD Connect
If you are facing a recent lung cancer diagnosis, it is critical to consider a second opinion so you can confirm your diagnosis and explore and understand all your treatment options.
Because there are many different types of lung cancer, an exact diagnosis of the disease is important. The cancer’s precise location and stage will largely determine what kind of treatment options are available to you.
Overview of the Most Common Lung Cancers
Here is an overview of what kinds of treatment options you might expect based on the three most common types of lung cancer:
Non-small-cell lung cancer is the most common lung cancer diagnosis. Here is a list of the most common treatment options available, that you and your doctor may discuss:
- Surgery
- Targeted therapy
- Radiation
- Laser therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Cryotherapy
- Photodynamic therapy
Small-cell lung cancer can be very aggressive and often requires immediate treatment, sometimes involving one or more of the following interventions:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation
- Surgery
- Laser therapy
- Immunotherapy
Metastatic lung cancer is cancer that has spread to another part of the body and is generally classified as stage 3 or 4. Your doctors' approach to treating this advanced-stage cancer will depend on where it originated and whether it has spread to the brain, bone, or spine. Treatment options for metastatic cancer can include:
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
- Steroid therapy (usually in conjunction with chemotherapy)
- Targeted therapy
Targeted Therapies
Targeted therapies are part of a personalized approach to treating lung cancer. They often involve drugs that either kill, disable, or prevent new growth of cancer cells. The advantage of a targeted approach is that it preserves healthy cells even as it kills cancer cells, which can reduce adverse effects typical of some types of aggressive chemotherapy.
As with most cancer diagnoses, the earlier you can begin treatment, the better. So don’t stress on the “big picture,” as there are many small decisions to make on the road to recovery.
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