Lung cancer can be treated either with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation and/or some combination of these three modalities.
The preferred treatment for non-small cell Lung Cancer is surgery, which is usually only possible in the earliest stages. Unfortunately the majority of patients initially present in more advanced stages and therefore surgery is not an option.
If surgery is feasible, the Thoracic Surgeon would outline the type of procedure that would be performed, which usually involves a chest incision known as a thoracotomy. Depending on the findings at surgery and subsequent evaluation by the Pathologist, treatment with either chemotherapy and/or radiation may be recommended afterward to help reduce the risk of cancer recurring elsewhere in the body (in the case of using chemotherapy) or back in the chest region (in the case of using radiation therapy). Sometimes, chemotherapy or chemotherapy in conjunction with radiation can be used in an attempt to shrink the tumor in the hopes of making an inoperable tumor operable.
If surgery is not a feasible option, usually chemotherapy and radiation are used together as the primary treatment. Chemotherapy is given by a Medical Oncologist and usually consists of intravenous and/or oral medications that circulate within the body in an attempt to destroy any cancer cells that may have left the chest region, as well as to help destroy the main tumor in the chest and sensitize the cells to the effects of the radiation. The radiation works to shrink the tumors.
The preferred treatment for small cell lung cancer is not surgery. Typically both chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used in conjunction with each other to treat this type of lung cancer, which tends to have a higher response rate to chemoradiation.
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