The best lung cancer treatment is performed based on the type, size, location, stage of cancer, and also the overall health of the patient. There are some medications or treatments that can be given by the doctor to prevent cancer from spreading as well as relieve the effects of lung cancer. Here they are.
Surgery
Surgery will be performed if cancer is still on one side of the lungs and has not spread yet to another side or other organs. This procedure is purposed to remove the tumor and some parts of healthy tissues around it. This action is performed to inhibit the spread of cancer cells. If tumor is quite big, then the thoracic surgeon will perform a lobectomy to remove part of the lungs. If cancer cells have spread to the entire right lung and left lung, then the doctor will remove one lung as a whole. Patients with lung cancer can still normally breathe even with only one lung.
Chemotherapy
In the further stage of lung cancer, chemotherapy is performed for several weeks or several months to kill cancer cells as well as inhibit the growth and spread of the remaining cancer cells after surgery. Chemotherapy can also be done before surgery with a purpose to make cancer shrink so that it will be easily removed. Another function of this lung cancer treatment is to relieve the symptoms felt by the patients.
Radiotherapy
The next best lung cancer treatment is radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is a treatment method performed after surgery in order to kill the remaining cancer cells. When surgery is not possible to perform any more to further stage of cancer, then radiation therapy is purposed to relieve the symptoms and inhibit the spreading of cancer.
Cryotherapy and Ablation Therapy
Cryotherapy uses gas at freezing temperature in order to shrink tumor or kill cancer cells. Cryotherapy is performed if lung cancer clogs the respiratory tract so that the patient finds it hard to breathe. While the ablation therapy is performed to patients with early-stage lung cancer. This therapy is performed by using radio waves that can produce heat to destroy cancer cells.
There are still other treatments for lung cancer, such as photodynamic therapy and target therapy. The doctor will choose which treatment is the best based on some factors, such as the stage of lung cancer and size. Consult the doctor in order to find the best lung cancer treatment.