LUNG CANCER

« HOW TO TEST A FOOD AFTER EXCLUSION: PULSE AND WEIGHT CHECKS

CANCER TREATMENTS: INTERNAL RADIOTHERAPY – CAESIUM OR IRIDIUM IMPLANTS »

The main symptoms of lung cancer are

shortness of breath

chronic cough, sometimes with blood in the sputum

chest pain and/or infection

Most lung cancers originate in the air tubes in the lungs, and can be split into two main categories – non-small cell tumours and small cell tumours.

In diagnosing both small cell and non-small cell lung cancer, tests will be performed to establish the extent of any spread. These may involve a combination of blood tests, X-rays and scans, and an examination of the lungs and lymph nodes in the chest by using a thin telescope. This is either inserted via the mouth to look at the lungs (bronchoscope) or via a small incision in the neck (mediastinoscope) under anaesthetic to examine the lymph nodes.

Non-small cell tumours usually grow more slowly although their prognosis is still not good, and often follow a pattern of spreading first to the lymph nodes in the chest and neck, and later to the liver, bone and brain. If the tumour is small and accessible and has not yet spread to the lymph nodes, then surgical removal may be possible. The other most common form of treatment is radiotherapy. Although it is not usually curative, it can help by relieving blockage by the tumour of major airways, and by reducing pain.

Small cell tumours generally spread faster and thus frequently involve multiple parts of the body, even before they are diagnosed. The areas affected tend to be the liver, bone marrow and brain. For this type of tumour, chemotherapy is the most effective form of treatment, to which radiotherapy may be added because if the cancer has already spread then surgically removing the primary tumour in the lung will not have any effect on the secondary tumours.

*10\118\2*