Stage-Three Lung Cancer
July 29, 2008 · Print This Article
Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer prevalent. Due to the ever-increasing pollution of the environment, every individual is breathing hazardous chemicals. This leads to lung, chest and breathing problems at a very early stage. And about 50% to 65% of the existing lung cancers are third stage lung cancers. The third and fourth stages of lung cancer are generally the last stages. Stage three is wherein the cancer tumor has spread into the chest walls.
Stages of lung cancer are deciphered because it helps the doctors know how far the cancerous cells have spread. And since the treatment depends on the stage it becomes very important factor. All the staging information includes size of the tumor, its situation in the lymph nodes i.e. whether it has spread beyond it or is still restricted to the same area.
Stage three
Stage three of lung cancer is divided into two parts. They are 3A and 3B. 3A indicates two things; one that the cancer cells have traveled far away from the affected lung but still on the same side and the second thing is that cancer is only present in lymph nodes closest to the affected lungs but has spread to chest wall or the lung covering. 3B cancer can mean any one of the following things:
• Cancer cells have spread on the other side of the affected chest area or to the nodes of any of the collarbones.
• There exist more than one tumor.
• The tumor has managed to reach some major part of the body like the heart, windpipe, the gullet or a main blood vessel.
• A kind of fluid has been accumulated near your lungs, which is likely to have cancerous cells.
Treatment
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy all facilitate the lung cancer treatment. But which one do you opt for? They can be used individually or in a combination. A number of factors are responsible in deciding which treatment is suited to you. Some of the factors are mentioned below:
• The type of lung cancer you have been inflicted with.
• Where the cancer is exactly located in the lungs
• Has the cancer spread to other parts of the body?
• Blood test and its result
• And general health of the patient
Lung cancer has following types
Small cell lung cancer is mostly treated with chemotherapy. Surgery is not so much of use in here because there are major chances of the tumors having spread. And surgery eliminates the tumor completely but does not treat those cells, which have spread far and wide. Radiotherapy is another way to treat Small cell lung cancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer can be treated with all three ways or in combination. Removing the whole lung might come into picture during treatment of third level pf non-small cell lung cancer.
Whatever the stage is most important to be comfortable in approaching your doctor and discussing the details of your ailment with him. It often helps to jot down the points you need to clarify before you go for the visit. This will avoid you getting nervous and scared and coming back without your queries unanswered.
