lung cancer treatments
Cancer of the lung currently ranks because the leading reason for cancer related death in males and women. Although continuing to decline in men, incidence rates remain stable in women, following an increase throughout the 1990's. Trends in lung cancer related deaths, are largely attributed to trends in smoking in the last several decades. In 2008, the American Cancer Society estimates 215,020 new cases will be diagnosed and 161,870 deaths due to lung cancer will occur in the United States alone...
Traditional treatment for cancer of the lung are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, ans photodtnamic therapy.
Your treatment is determined by what sort of lung cancer you have, and just what stage your cancer is at (how serious it is).
When it comes to surgery... there are lots of kinds of surgery for lung cancer, such as pneumonectomy (where one entire lung is taken away), lobectomy (where a section "lobe" from the lung is taken away), a segmentectomy / wedge resection (where part of a lobe is removed), laser surgery ( where a high-energy beam of light destroys the cancer cells inside a tumor).
In the case of radiation therapy... this therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. The radiation could be delivered with a machine that directs the high-energy rays towards your cancer, or by a small radioactive pellet that gets implanted in or close to the tumor.
When it comes to chemotherapy... means taking anti-cancer drugs, either by swallowing them or by injection. A number of chemotherapy drugs might be administered through a vein inside your arm (intravenously) or taken orally. A mix of drugs is frequently succumbed a series of treatments over a period of months, with breaks among so that your body can recover.
When it comes to targeted drug therapy... they are newer cancer treatments that work by targeting specific abnormalities in cancer cells. Targeted therapy options for the treatment of cancer of the lung include...
Bevacizumab (Avastin), which stops a tumor from developing a new blood flow. Arteries that connect with tumors can supply oxygen and nutrients to the tumor, letting it grow. Bevacizumab is usually used in combination with chemotherapy and it is approved for advanced and recurrent non-small cell cancer of the lung. Bevacizumab has a chance of severe bleeding.
non small cell cancerErlotinib (Tarceva), which blocks chemicals that signal the cancer cells to develop and divide. Erlotinib qualifies for those who have advanced and recurrent non-small cell lung cancer that weren't helped by chemotherapy. Erlotinib negative effects incorporate a skin rash and diarrhea.
Doctors are becoming better at diagnosing and treating cancer of the lung, meaning people with lung cancer possess a better possibility of recovering and living longer. Still, lung cancer is among the deadliest cancers. It's important for those who have lung cancer to be aware what to expect and also to arrange for the near future. You'll want to keep in mind that not all lung cancers are identical, which the treatment or the prognosis for one patient with cancer of the lung could be very different than the next person with lung cancer.
Many people opt for alternative therapies as lung cancer treatment instead of conventional treatments or medicine, because when one starts to realise why cells have become cancerous in the first place, it makes sense to turn back process.
For example, everyone knows or ought to know that a weakened defense mechanisms results in cancer... while a powerful immune system seeks out and destroys cancer cells. For many in your life, the defense mechanisms has successfully handled cancer cells, killing them off because they developed. That's its job. For cancer to possess developed in you, your defense mechanisms must have become worn out, ineffective and not able to cope with the cancer cells.
As a result it is essential inside your battle against cancer to strengthen the defense mechanisms. Particularly if you are becoming treatments that wipe out the immune system, making the body more acidic to boot. Many natural supplements and a healthy diet supports the defense mechanisms. Another problem is to make sure you take enough. Cancer of the lung is not something to pussyfoot around with.
