Chemotherapy lung cancer is usually reserved for inoperable lung cancer, that is, stage III or IV of non small cell. Surgery is the preferred conventional treatment for early stages of lung cancer, which refers almost exclusively to non small cell. Small cell grows so rapidly it is almost always end stage lung cancer by the time it is diagnosed.

Surgery is only feasible when the entire tumor can be removed, and this would be the situation before the cancer has metastasized (spread) outside the lung. Once the cancer has begun to spread, radiation rather than surgery is necessary. Radiation consists of high-energy x-rays that kill localized cancer cells, as in stage III non small cell lung cancer.

Chemotherapy Lung Cancer Is a Last Resort

Unlike other orthodox treatments, chemotherapy lung cancer uses drugs to destroy abnormal cells throughout the body. This is why chemo can have such dire effects on cancer patients; it also attacks normal cells. Although used alone in stage IV non small cell lung cancer, chemo can be added to the treatment regimen at any stage.

Chemotherapy lung cancer is not just one, routine method of using drugs. There are several possibilities, and a doctor must decide which is better for each patient. Often, a doctor might suggest joining a clinical trial whose purpose is to improve orthodox treatment of lung cancer patients. Because the survival rate is so poor for lung cancer, and because it is the leading cause of cancer death, much research is focused on improving treatment.