Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer
Facts
About Lung Cancer
- According to the American Cancer Society, this year nearly 175,000
Americans will learn they have lung cancer.
- The one-year survival rate for lung cancer has increased from
34 percent in 1975 to 42 percent in 1998.
Risk
Factors for Lung Cancer
Smoking greatly increases
your chances of developing lung cancer.
- Other risk factors include exposure to substances like second-hand
smoke, arsenic, some organic chemicals, radon, asbestos, air pollution
and tuberculosis.
Quitting
Smoking
If you quit smoking, the
health benefits begin immediately.
- For patients with lung cancer, quitting smoking makes treatment
more effective.
- Quitting smoking also reduces the risks of infections, such
as pneumonia, improves breathing, and reduces the risks associated
with surgery.
- To learn how to quit, talk to your doctor or visit www.smokefree.gov
.
Symptoms
of Lung Cancer
Some signs and symptoms of
lung cancer include:
- Persistent cough, coughing blood or shortness of breath.
- Chest pain.
- Recurring pneumonia or bronchitis.
- Swelling of the neck and face.
- Unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite or fatigue.
Diagnosing
Lung Cancer
- A chest X-ray will often reveal a tumor and where it is located.
Other tests, such as CT scans and PET scans, can provide more
detailed information.
- To be certain if you have lung cancer, tissue from your lung
will be removed and analyzed. This is called a biopsy.
- The biopsy may be done during a bronchoscopy, a test where a
flexible tube with a light is inserted into your nose or mouth
to look at the airways of the lungs.
- A biopsy may also be done with a needle inserted through the
skin directly into the tumor under CT guidance.
Types
of Lung Cancer
Non-small cell lung cancer
and small cell lung cancer are the two main types of lung cancer.
- Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer.
It often grows and spreads less rapidly than small cell lung cancer.
There are three types of non-small cell lung cancer — squamous
cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma.
- Small cell lung cancer is less common than non-small cell lung
cancer. It grows more rapidly and is more likely to spread to
other organs in the body.
- Lung cancer usually begins in one lung. If left untreated, it
can spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the chest, including
the other lung. Lung cancer can also metastasize (or spread) throughout
the body to the bones, brain, liver or other organs.
Treatment
for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer treatment depends
on several factors, including the type and size of the cancer, its
location, and your overall health. Typically, several different
treatments and combinations of treatments will be used to combat
lung cancer. During treatment, a team of doctors may be involved
in your care, including a radiation oncologist, a medical oncologist
and a surgeon.
- Non-small cell lung cancer may be treated first with surgery.
Your doctor may also suggest radiation therapy or chemotherapy
either alone or in combination.
- Small cell lung cancer is often treated with chemotherapy and
radiation therapy either at the same time or one right after the
other.
Understanding
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy, sometimes
called radiotherapy, is the careful use of radiation to safely and
effectively treat cancer.
- Cancer doctors called radiation oncologists use radiation therapy
to try to cure cancer, to control cancer growth or to relieve
symptoms, such as pain.
- Radiation therapy works within cancer cells by damaging their
ability to multiply. When these cells die, the body naturally
eliminates them.
- Healthy cells are also affected by radiation, but they are able
to repair themselves in a way cancer cells cannot.
External
Beam Radiation Therapy
External beam radiation therapy
involves a series of daily radiation treatments targeting your lung
tumor.
- Radiation therapy treatments are delivered in a series of daily
sessions. Each treatment itself is painless and will last less
than 30 minutes, Monday through Friday, for several weeks.
- 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) combines multiple
radiation treatment fields to deliver precise doses of radiation
to the lung tumor. Tailoring each of the radiation beams to accurately
focus on the tumor targets the cancer while protecting nearby
healthy tissue.
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a form of 3D-CRT
that modifies the radiation by varying the intensity of each radiation
beam. This technique allows a precise adjustment of radiation
doses to the tissues within the target area, possibly allowing
a higher radiation dose to the tumor and keeping more radiation
away from nearby normal tissues. IMRT is still being studied for
lung cancer.
- Your radiation oncologist may recommend applying radiation to
the brain after successfully treating small cell lung cancer.
Called prophylactic cranial irradiation, or PCI, this treatment
is not recommended for all patients.
Brachytherapy
In some cases, your doctor
may recommend brachytherapy. Also called internal radiation, brachytherapy
involves placing radioactive material into a tumor or its surrounding
tissue.
- During bronchoscopy, one or two thin plastic tubes called catheters
will be placed down your nose and into the airways of the lung.
- The tube or tubes are then connected to a brachytherapy machine.
This holds the radioactive source, which is in the form of a ribbon
with radioactive seeds. Your doctor slides the ribbon into the
tube in your lung so the seeds are next to the tumor.
- The ribbon will be left in place from a few minutes to a few
days.
Possible
Side Effects
Patients often experience
little or no side effects from radiation therapy and are able to
continue normal routines.
- Side effects are temporary and usually limited to the area that
received radiation.
- Possible problems include skin irritation, difficulty or pain
when swallowing, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
- Talk to your doctor about any discomfort you feel. He or she
may be able to provide drugs and other treatments to help.
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