Lung cancer treatments usually depend on two important factors: type of lung cancer, and stage of development of the cancer. Every year, more than 90,000 men and 79,000 women are diagnosed with cancer of the lungs and bronchi, the air tubes that feed into the lungs. Although the rate of lung cancer in men has been decreasing, the rate among women has been increasing.

Most women probably fear breast cancer as the most likely cancer they will develop, but, in fact, the number of lung cancer deaths among women is higher than the number of deaths from breast cancer. In fact, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. There are two types of lung cancer: small cell and non-small cell. Each is treated differently by healthcare workers because each affects different cells in the lungs and each spreads differently.

Lung Cancer Treatments for Non-Small Cell and Small Cell

Non-small cell is the most common type of lung cancer and is, of course, closely associated with smoking. Its progress is described in stages: stage I, in which the cancer is just in the lung; stages II and III, in which the cancer is restricted to the chest; and stage IV, in which the cancer has spread outside the chest. In stage I, surgery is usually used; in other stages, radiation and/or chemotherapy are used in lung cancer therapy.

Small cell lung cancer treatments depend on which of two stages describe the progress of the cancer. If it is limited, the cancer is confined to the chest site where it started. If it is extensive, the cancer has spread throughout the chest, or has spread beyond the chest. This type of cancer is more aggressive than non-small cell and is more likely to have metastasized (spread) before being diagnosed. Surgery is not an option in this case, so radiation and/or chemotherapy are used as lung cancer treatments.