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Lung Cancer Chemotherapy

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Being diagnosed with lung cancer is one of the most terrifying and overwhelming experiences that a person could have. Medicine has made some great advancement in lung cancer chemotherapy today. The type of lung cancer that you have will determine the type of chemotherapy that is received.

For small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy works very well. When the cells move away from the source of the cancer, they are very difficult to detect because of their microscopic size. Surgery and radiation will be used to treat the local area where the cancer has originated, but it is always assumed that there has been microscopic spread of cancer cells. That is where chemotherapy will come in.

The combinations of drugs that are used in lung cancer chemotherapy are typically cisplatin and etoposide. There have been very good results with this combination. Medicine is always looking for new combinations that will produce better results. It is typically used at the same time as radiation therapy, or it can be used before radiation or surgery.

For non-small cell lung cancer the use of chemotherapy is usually used for other reasons than microscopic spread. It is used after surgery to lower the chance of the cancer coming back. It is also used with radiation, either before or after, to assist the treatment.

Patients who have advanced non-small cell lung cancer will often receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy to help control the cancer. During advanced stages of lung cancer doctors will often suggest more aggressive treatments to try and help the patient live longer.

There is often a chemotherapy plan worked out before the course of treatment begins. There are many factors that are used in designing the plan. Your ability to handle the side effects is one of the factors that are used. The lung cancer chemotherapy will generally be given in cycles. This allows the drugs to work on cells that were not killed during the first round to be killed in subsequent rounds of treatment. Chemotherapy drugs do not kill cells that are not dividing. If they are not dividing during the first round of treatment, they will be by the second.

Depending on the stage of the lung cancer, chemotherapy treatments can last for a few hours or days. The treatment can be very aggressive and the ability to work and participate in daily life will be seriously diminished. The concentration should be on the treatment and eliminating the cancer.