As the name says, Lung cancer is the cancer that starts in the lungs. In this type of cancer, the abnormal cancerous cells attack the lungs.
Cancer in any form is dangerous and it is insanely important for the patient to get the treatment for cancer in case someone diagnosis with it. There are many kinds of treatments for cancer out there but the most effective treatment is chemotherapy treatment. It is that treatment for cancer in which treatment doctors use anti-cancer drugs to either remove or cure the symptoms of cancer. Chemotherapy is also an option in lungs cancer and doctors all around the world use this treatment to cure lung cancer. Chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer yields good results.
Types of Lung Cancer
There are many types of lung cancer but the most common type is non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC. This type of cancer makes most of the cases of lung cancer, when a person has this type of cancer then the abnormal cancerous cells first attacks the lining of the lungs.
Non-small cell lung cancer also has subtypes and we are going to talk about them one by one.
Adenocarcinoma
This is the subtype of non-small cell lung cancer and it is the lightest form of NSCLC. 40% cases which doctors handle of lung cancer belongs to this category. In Adenocarcinoma, a tumor starts forming in the lining or the outer part of a lung but its growth stays slow.
Squamous cell carcinoma
Lung cancer is a little more advanced in this subtype of NSCLC. In squamous cell carcinoma the cancerous cells attack the center of the lung. Almost 25 to 30 people effect with this type of cancer.
Large cell carcinoma
Only 10 to 15 percent patients suffer from this subtype of non-small cell lung cancer this type of cancer grows faster than the other subtypes. Keeping in mind all these subtypes of lung cancer doctors can safely divide the non-small cell lung cancer in 4 stages.
We have already talked about that chemotherapy is an effective way to cure any form of cancer and Chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer is also an option.
Chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer is very much an option for the cancer patients who are suffering from lung cancer. Chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer use different criteria for its application. Doctors give chemotherapy to the patients who are suffering from NSCLC in different situations. Doctors give chemo to patients before surgery to shrink or remove the tumor. Doctors also give chemotherapy to patients after surgery to make sure that no cancerous cells are targeting the patient anymore. Sometimes chemo is best to use with another therapy, radiation to make sure that the patient is cancer free.
Chemotherapy Treatment for Lung cancer stage 1
In stage 1 of lung cancer cancerous cells form a tumor inside the lung. Doctors usually do not give an option of chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer stage 1 rather doctors use surgery as a treatment method to remove the tumor which is taking shape in stage 1 of lung cancer.
Chemotherapy Treatment for lung cancer stage 2 and 3
After removing the tumor through surgery, sometimes doctors see that lung cancer comes back. In stage 2 and 3 of lung cancer when the cancer comes back doctors use radiation as a method to treat the cancer patients. Chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer stage 2 and 3 is hardly an option for doctors. In stage 2 and 3 of lung cancer doctors prefer radiation and surgery.
Chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer stage 4
Stage 4 of lung cancer is the last stage and it is dangerous for all the right reasons. In this stage the abnormal cancerous cell reaches the external lymph nodes and to the other organs of the body. To treat the cancer patient in this stage doctors, use chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer stage 4 as the main option. Chemotherapy is the only option in this stage which has the potential to work. Doctors usually give certain drugs to patients who are suffering from the last stage of lung cancer. In this stage these drugs do work and there are cases when the patients even survive in the last stage of lung cancer because of chemotherapy.
How successful is chemotherapy for lung cancer?
Chemotherapy is an effective method to treat the cancer patients. In this treatment doctors give certain drugs to patients. These drugs fight the cancerous cells in the body and they try their best to save the cancer patient. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for lung cancer. This treatment is not necessary for the first three stages but for the 4th Stage this treatment is the must. Without chemotherapy patients cannot entertain any chance of surviving but with chemotherapy things are different. There are cases when the cancer patient at the last stage of lung cancer survives because of chemotherapy.
Possible side effects of chemotherapy in Lung cancer
Though chemotherapy is an effective treatment to cure the cancer patients still this treatment has certain side effect. The patients of lung cancer who are going through chemotherapy can experience extreme nausea and vomiting. Apart from this a person can also feel tingling in his nerves and he may complain that he feels his nerves are damaging.
The other side effect includes the loss of either few or all hair of Cancer patients. There are side effects in the treatment of chemotherapy yet it is the most effective method and it is one of the reasons why doctors opt this treatment to treat the patients who are suffering from lung cancer. There are treatments available for Cancer but no one can deny the fact that cancer is a dangerous disease. It is always better to be safe than sorry and one can make sure that he is safe from this disease is by having regular check-up from his or her doctor. Make sure you make your health your top most priority because at the end of the day health is the great wealth.