Lung Cancer Treatment
Lung Cancer Treatment depends on the type, the size, the position of cancer, and the stage of cancer suffered. The health of sufferers is also influential in determining the treatment that can be lived.
Surgical removal of cancer can be done if the cancer is only on one side of the lung and has not spread. In addition, the health condition of lung cancer sufferer needs to be checked whether allows to the surgery. Surgical removal of cancer will usually be followed by chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells that are left.
For cancer that has spread, only radiotherapy and or chemotherapy can be done. In addition, biological therapy is also available as an alternative to chemotherapy. Biologic therapy aimed at controlling and suppressing the development of cancer.
Surgical removal of lung cancer
Surgery is done to remove lung cancer as well as some healthy tissue around it. This is done in order to anticipate if there are any cancer cells that have already spread.
The wedge resection is a surgical procedure that lifts a small portion of lung tissue due to tumor size is small or if the performance of the lungs of sufferers has dropped because a Lobectomy surgery has traveled before.
Lobectomy is the process of appointment of all parts in one lobe of the lung. Lobe is part of the lung that has clear limits. The right lung is made up of three lobes, while the left lung from the two lobes. In the procedure of Lobectomy, the entire lobe of the lung that esophageal cancer will be lifted. The lungs can still function with the rest of the lobe.
Pneumonectomy is the procedure of surgical removal of one lung side overall. The implementation of this procedure only if forced to, for example, because the cancer cells are in the middle of one side of the lung or have spread to all parts of the lungs.
Sufferers can still be to breathe after the above operations. If a portion of the lung is lifted, the rest of the network will expand after some time. This will make breathing became easier. It took a few weeks to recover fully from the surgery of the lung.
As with other operations, surgical removal of the lungs may also be led to complications. Examples of complications of lung surgery among others the inflammation of the lung, bleeding, and blood clotting.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy uses radiation energy to kill cancer cells. Particularly on postoperative condition, this procedure can also be used to kill cancer cells remain. If surgery is not possible, lung cancer treatment by radiotherapy is done to relieve symptoms or pain and slow the rate of spread of cancer.
Possible side effects that may occur due to radiotherapy is as follows:
- A cough until phlegm mixed blood.
- Pain in the chest.
- Difficulty in swallowing.
- Reddened skin and feels stung. Rontoknya fur on the chest.
- Often feel exhausted.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Chemotherapy
Treatment of chemotherapy is done regularly within a few weeks or months with punctuated a break to recover. The procedures of handling wear medicines to kill cancer cells, slowing the growth of cancer cells, and inhibit its spread.
Chemotherapy is also sometimes given before surgery with the aim to make the cancer shrinks and becomes easier to be appointed. In addition, lung cancer treatment by chemotherapy can also be done postoperatively to kill cancer cells remain. Another function of the chemotherapy is to relieve pain and reduce the symptoms of cancer.
Side effects will emerge due to chemotherapy, among others, physical fatigue, nausea, vomiting, mouth ulcers, hair loss, as well as the emergence of an ulcer in the stomach. Chemotherapy can also make the body becomes more vulnerable to infections.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Photodynamic Therapy
Step treatment that could be used to treat lung cancer early stage in patients who refused to perform the surgery. In this therapy, a thin tube will be inserted into the location of the tumor. Then the laser beam will be fired through the tubes to destroy cancer cells.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Biological therapy
This treatment is an alternative to the chemotherapy. This therapy uses drugs such as erlotinib and gefitinib to inhibits the growth of cancer cells. This therapy is recommended for those who suffered from cancer of the lung non-small cell that has spread so it is difficult to be treated with radiotherapy or surgery.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Cryotherapy
Medical action can be done if cancer has begun to clog the respiratory tract. A tool named cryoprobe will be put on the tumor, then generate the temperature is very cold. The cold temperatures it will shrink the tumor.
Lung Cancer Treatment by Radiofrequency Ablation
This is the type of treatment to deal with the small-cell lung cancer that can be diagnosed at an early stage. The doctor will use a CT Scanner to direct the needle into the tumor. After the needle piercing a tumor, radio waves will be streamed on the needle. The resulting heat wave radio will kill the cancer cells. The complications that commonly occur after an action of radiofrequency ablation is the emergence of pockets of air trapped between the inner and outer lining of the lungs.