10 MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT LUNG CANCER TREATMENT

Akciğer Kanseri Tedavisi

1-What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

The most common symptoms are cough (more than 2 weeks), sputum production, weakness, weakness, bloody sputum (hemoptysis), chest and back pain. Also, paraneoplastic syndromes (PS) are a complex of symptoms or findings that occur in cancers as a result of various factors secreted from tumors or immune response against tumor cells.

Endocrinological paraneoplastic syndromes originating from lung cancer include:

  • hypercalcemia
  • Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone
  • Cushing’s syndrome
  • acromegaly
  • hypoglycemia
  • Carcinoid syndrome and carcinoid crisis

2-How is the diagnosis of lung cancer made?

First of all, lung (thorax) computed tomography should be taken to determine the exact localization of the mass in the lung. Bronchoscopy or transthoracic needle biopsy should be performed for cellular diagnosis of the mass detected in the lung.

3-Akciğer kanserinde evreleme nasıl yapılır ve neden önemlidir?

PET-CT and brain MRI should be taken for staging. Staging is important to determine the type of treatment to be administered. Lung cancer has 4 stages:

Stage I is the stage where the tumor is found only in one lung and not in the lymph nodes.

Stage II is the stage where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes around the lung where the tumor is located.

Stage IIIa is the stage where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes around the trachea, chest wall, and diaphragm on the same side as the lung where the tumor is located.

Stage IIIb is when the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the other lung or neck.

Stage IV is when the cancer has spread to the rest of the body and other parts of the lungs (metastatic).

4-What are the types of lung cancer?

a) Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Non-small cell lung cancers, which make up 75% of lung cancers, usually develop more slowly.

This type of lung cancer;

adenocancer,
Squamous cell cancer,
large cell cancer
It is classified into four main groups as mixed

Although the treatments for these types of lung cancer are similar, there are some differences, especially according to their targeted genomic features.

b) Small cell lung cancer (SCLC)

Small cell lung cancer, sometimes called oat cell cancer, represents 15-20% of all lung cancers. This type of lung cancer develops faster and spreads more in the body.

5-How is lung cancer treated?

Lung cancer treatment is carried out according to the stage of the disease. Surgical treatment is the first choice in stages I, II and IIIA. Stage IIIB and IV. chemotherapy and radiotherapy options emerge.

6-How is the surgical treatment in lung cancer?

The first treatment for this disease is surgery. Surgery provides the longest survival rates. For this reason, all kinds of examinations are performed to give our patients the chance of surgery. In surgery, the operation to be performed is lobectomy, in which the lobe with the disease is removed. Today, it is the VATS (videothoracoscopy) operation, which we call mainly closed surgery. We also perform this operation through a single hole, approximately 4 cm apart. This process is called uniportal VATS.

7-When and how is chemotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer?

It is applied to stage III and IV patients in lung cancer. It can be applied sometimes before surgery (neodajuvant), sometimes after surgery or as a single treatment (adjuvant).

Chemotherapy is the removal of cancer cells with drugs. It usually consists of more than one drug. The number of chemotherapy is expressed as a cure (such as the 1st course, the 2nd cycle) and usually the same drugs are given by repeating every 21 or 28 days. Chemotherapy is most often given in the form of intravenous fluids in outpatient centers or as an oral pill. Sometimes, patients may need to receive their treatment in the hospital, depending on the deterioration in the general condition of the patient, the drugs given or the way the drug is given. The characteristics of the tumor in the pathology report determine whether a patient will receive chemotherapy after surgery and, if so, how many cures he will receive. However, the age and general condition of the patient also play an important role in making these decisions. If the patients who are planned to undergo chemotherapy have had surgery, it is preferred to start chemotherapy at the 3rd week after the surgery.

8-How is the use of radiotherapy in lung cancer?

It is the use of high-energy rays to eliminate the cancer cell. It is applied to every limited area and affects cancer cells in this area. Radiotherapy can be applied before surgery to shrink a tumor or after an intervention to destroy the cancer cell. Doctors often use radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy as the first alternative to surgical treatment.

9-What are the survival chances of patients after lung cancer treatment?

Sometimes patients want their chances of recovery to be expressed in numbers. In fact, in large studies, there are numerical percentage values ​​about how long the patient at which stage can live on average. However, it should be noted that these statistical values ​​are an average of values ​​from thousands of patients, so it would not be entirely accurate to use them to predict what will happen to any cancer patient. What will happen to two patients with cancer in the future is different from each other. Many factors that belong to the tumor and the patient itself, which we do not know yet, are effective in the different prognosis of two people with the same disease. Therefore, it is not correct for patients to compare themselves with other patients. But it is clear that the best results in cancer treatment are obtained with surgery. If patients are suitable for surgery, this chance should be evaluated.

10-How is patient follow-up done after lung cancer treatment?

It is also very important to follow up the patient after the treatment of lung cancer. Regular checkups reveal changes in health status. Thus, if the cancer recurs or new cancer occurs, it can be treated as quickly as possible. These checks include examination, chest x-ray, and various laboratory tests.

There is no special diet recommended after treatment, a balanced diet, avoidance of high-fat beverages, regular exercise, that is, the rules that every healthy person should follow under normal conditions are also valid for cancer patients. In case of weight loss, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, nausea-vomiting, dizziness, abdominal pain and fullness, bone pain, cough lasting more than two weeks, headache, a doctor should be consulted without waiting for your normal periodic control time.

During and after the treatment, patients can continue their sexual life as before. Due to the mutagenic effects of chemotherapy on ovarian cells (serious abnormalities may occur in the baby), one of the birth control methods should be preferred to prevent pregnancy during the treatment. With the treatment plan after the diagnosis, the physical and mental problems experienced by the patient may affect the feelings such as fatigue, feeling of weakness, sexual life, desire and excitement due to the disease or treatment. Such problems related to sexual life will pass in time, as well as other problems experienced during this period and after treatment.

Patients should not hesitate to tell the doctors and nurses in the chemotherapy unit that they have concerns about sexual life and that they want help in this regard.

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