Lung cancer (small cell and non-small cell) in men and women is the second most common cancer. The most common cancer in men is prostate and in women is breast cancer. Most people that are diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older and a very small number of people younger than 45 are diagnosed with lung cancer. On average, people diagnosed with cancer are about 70 years old.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among both men and women which accounts up to approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. In comparison to colon, breast and prostate cancers combined, more people die of lung cancer.
On the bright side, the number of new lung cancer cases are decreasing. This may be partly due to the fact that people are quitting smoking. Another reason for this may be advances in technology that helps with early detection and treatment of lung cancer.
So what happens after a diagnosis is the oncologist would look into what treatment options would be best for the patient. The oncologist, which is a doctor who treats and provides medical care to a person diagnosed with cancer, would look at factors to help decide which treatment option to go with.
Factors that would be considered are:
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The type of the lung cancer
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The stage of lung cancer
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The availability of therapies
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Patient’s personal preference
Treatment of non-small cells lung cancer & small cells lung cancer
For non small cells lung cancer and small cells lung cancer, the treatment includes:
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Surgery: A surgeon may remove cancer cells and any lymph nodes that may be affected by this. However, if a big portion of the lungs have been affected, surgery to remove the cancer cells may not be possible.
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Chemotherapy: Strong drugs are used to kill cancer cells. It usually works by preventing the cancer cells from growing, dividing and making more cancer cells and since cancer cells grow faster than normal cells, chemotherapy has more effect on cancer cells than normal cells. That being said, chemotherapy drugs are strong and can still cause damage to normal healthy cells which could lead to the patient experiencing side effects.
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Radiation therapy: This is where a radiologist would direct a beam of radiation towards the cancer cell to destroy it.
Side effects of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can cause some side effects and side effects normally depend on the chemotherapy regimen chosen. Some side effects include:
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Hair loss
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Mouth sores
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Loss of appetite or weight changes
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Nausea & vomiting
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Diarrhoea or constipation
Chemotherapy can also cause low white blood count, red blood cell count and also low platelet count. These in turn would cause
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Increased risk of infection (due to low white blood cell count)
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Fatigue (due to low red blood cell count)
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Easy bruising or bleeding (due to low blood platelet count)
These side effects usually go away once the chemotherapy regimen has been completed. However, during the treatment, side effects that are experienced should be discussed with the doctor so that they can tailor the patient's medication to their needs. For example, nausea and vomiting can be treated/prevented with antiemetics and for hair loss, cooling or cold caps can be worn during chemo to reduce hair loss.
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References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316477#treatments
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/treating-non-small-cell/chemotherapy.html
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
