Lung Cancer

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KEY POINTS

• Lung cancer is a growth of abnormal cells that forms tumors in the lung.
• Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or medicine to help your immune system fight cancer. Often, more than 1 treatment is used.
• After treatment, you will need to have regular follow-up visits with your healthcare provider.

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What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is a growth of abnormal cells that forms tumors in the lung. Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the US and is a leading cause of death by cancer.

When you breathe, the lungs bring oxygen into your body and take out carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a waste product of your body's cells.

Lung cancer can spread to other parts of your body, most often to the liver, brain, bones, and to other parts of the lungs. Cancer from other parts of your body may also spread to the lungs, but it is different from cancer that starts in the lungs.

The sooner cancer is found and treated, the better your chances for recovery. However, even advanced cancer can usually be treated. Treatment may slow or stop the growth of the cancer and ease symptoms for a time. Ask your healthcare provider what you can expect with the type of cancer that you have.

What is the cause?

Tobacco is linked to most cases of lung cancer. In addition to smoking, things that increase your risk for lung cancer include exposure to:

• Other people's smoke (secondhand smoke, or passive smoking)
• Air pollution
• Radiation at your job or in your environment
• Asbestos
• Radon gas
• Industrial chemicals, such as the byproducts from petroleum refining

What are the symptoms?

Lung cancer grows for a while without causing symptoms. When you start to have symptoms, they may include:

• Cough
• Coughing up blood
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Hoarseness
• Chest pain
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite

How is it diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will review your symptoms and examine you. A sample of mucus coughed up from your lungs may show whether cancer cells are present. You may have tests such as:

• Chest X-ray
• CT scan, which uses X-rays and a computer to show detailed pictures of the lungs
• PET scan, which is a kind of X-ray that uses a radioactive material injected into a vein to show detailed pictures of the cancer
• Bronchoscopy, which is a thin, flexible, lighted tube passed through your mouth and down into your lungs to examine the airways
• Lung biopsy, which may be done during a bronchoscopy, with a needle passed through the skin, or during surgery, to take a small sample of tissue for testing

There are different types of lung cancer, and they are treated differently. The most common types are named for how the lung cancer cells look under a microscope:

• Non-small cell lung cancer
• Small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer tends to spread quickly. Most lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer. They spread more slowly than small cell lung cancer.

How is it treated?

You and your healthcare provider will discuss possible treatments. You may also talk with a surgeon or cancer specialists. Some things to think about when making treatment decisions are:

• Your age
• Your overall health
• The stage of the cancer (how advanced the cancer is)
• Whether the cancer has spread to other parts of your body

Surgery is the single best way to cure lung cancer. It is the usual treatment if you have a single tumor and the cancer is non-small cell lung cancer with little or no spread to nearby tissues. A part of one lung or a whole lung may need to be removed. When lung cancer spreads to the outer lining of a lung, fluid may build up in the chest outside the lung and make it hard for the lung to take in air. Your healthcare provider may remove the fluid with a needle so you can breathe more easily.

Other possible treatments are:

• Radiation therapy, which uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells
• Chemotherapy (anticancer drugs), which uses medicine to kill cancer cells
• Biological therapy, which uses medicines that help your immune system fight the cancer

Your treatment will also include:

• Preventing infections
• Controlling pain or other symptoms you may be having
• Preventing or controlling the side effects from treatments
• Helping you manage your life with cancer

Often, more than 1 treatment is used. After treatment, lung cancer can come back. You will need to have regular follow-up visits with your healthcare provider.

Ask your healthcare provider about clinical trials that might be available to you. Clinical trials are research studies to find effective cancer treatments. It’s always your choice whether you take part in one or not.

How can I take care of myself?

If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer:

• Talk about your cancer and treatment options with your healthcare provider. Make sure you understand your choices.
• Follow the full course of treatment prescribed by your healthcare provider.
• Drink lots of liquids to keep the mucus in your lungs thin.
• Ask your healthcare provider:
  • How and when you will get your test results
  • How long it will take to recover
  • If there are activities you should avoid and when you can return to your normal activities
  • How to take care of yourself at home
  • What symptoms or problems you should watch for and what to do if you have them

Make sure you know when you should come back for a checkup. Keep all appointments for provider visits or tests.

Other things that may help include:

• Eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise as recommended by your healthcare provider.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Try to reduce stress and take time for activities that you enjoy. It may help to talk with a counselor about your illness.
• Talk with your family and your healthcare providers about your concerns. Ask your healthcare provider any questions you have about the disease, treatments, side effects of the treatments, sexual activity, support groups, and anything else that concerns you.
• If you smoke, try to quit.
• Ask your provider if you need to avoid drinking alcohol. It may interfere with medicines you are taking. Alcohol can also make it harder for white blood cells to fight infections.
• Tell your provider if your treatment causes discomfort. Usually there are ways to help you be more comfortable.

For more information, contact:

• American Cancer Society, Inc.
  800-227-2345
  http://www.cancer.org
• Cancer Information Service
  800-422-6237
  https://www.cancer.gov/contact/contact-center