According to the National Cancer Institute, there are almost 50 new cases of lung cancer per 100,000 men and women annually. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, it can be a difficult pill to swallow. There are ways to combat this, however. Here are some things to expect when you first get started with lung cancer treatment.
Diagnosis
When you first get lung cancer, further diagnosis needs to be performed in order to analyze the progression of the cancer. This involves seeing a lung cancer specialist. Lung cancer specialists can pinpoint exactly how far along you are in the process and advise the best course of action for you in order to get better.
Lung Cancer Treatments
Once you have an idea of the stage of your lung cancer, you can choose a lung cancer treatment to go through. While taking a specialist’s advice is highly recommended, your opinion also matters in how you tackle your disease. The first option you may have is surgery. Through this process, cancer tissue is cut out of your body. The main benefit of surgery is that if you have a large amount of cancer in your body, a surgeon can remove it. One problem with surgery is that it may not be able to get rid of microscopic bits of cancer in your body.
Another option you have is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the process of taking medication to shrink or kill the cancer. This can either be done with pills or injections. What comes along with chemotherapy, however, are side effects such as nausea and hair loss. Overall, you will more often than not feel sick while on chemotherapy.
The next type of treatment you can undergo is radiation therapy. This utilizes rays of radiation to kill the cancer cells. This procedure does a great job of killing those small bits of cancer inside of you, but there is potential for there to be damage around the radiated area. In the case of lung cancer, this can result in injured skin on or around your chest.
You can also take part in clinical trials, though many of these trials are not proven to work. It’s a big risk for a potentially big reward. If you can use a more traditional route though, that would be advised. If you’re in need of lung cancer treatment, reach out to Palo Verde Cancer Specialists today. We are here for you every step of the way and aim to make this difficult time as simple as possible.
