What Lung Cancer Treatment is Right For You?
By Lynne Eldridge MD, About.com Guide
- Complementary/Alternative Medicine
- Chemotherapy Side Effects
- Quitting Smoking
- Metastatic Lung Cancer Treatments
Newly Diagnosed
When you are newly diagnosed with lung cancer you may feel overwhelmed. What are the first steps you should take and what questions should you ask, so you can find the best care possible?
- First Steps When You Are Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
- Choosing a Lung Cancer Treatment Center
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Treatment
- Lung Cancer Treatment Options
- What to Bring to Doctors Visits
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is often used for lung cancer, alone or combined with surgery and/or radiation therapy.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy can be used for lung cancer treatment alone, or combined with surgery or chemotherapy.
- Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer
- Side Effects of Radiation Therapy
- Managing Common Radiation Therapy Side Effects
- Radiation Pneumonitis
Surgery
Surgery can offer a chance for a cure when lung cancer is diagnosed in the earlier stages. Several different methods of surgery are available depending on the size of your tumor and where it is located.
- Surgery for Lung Cancer
- What Types of Surgery are Done for Lung Cancer?
- Inoperable Lung Cancer - What Does Inoperable Mean?
- How to Prepare for Lung Cancer Surgery
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials can give you the chance to use treatments that are not yet widely available, and also to participate in research that may help others. But, they're not right for everyone.
- What Are Clinical Trials?
- Should I Participate in a Clinical Trial?
- Types and Phases of Clinical Trials
- How Can I Find Clinical Trials For Lung Cancer?
- What's New in Lung Cancer Research?
Complementary/Alternative Medicine
Recognizing the inability of traditional Western medicine to cure or control symptoms of lung cancer too often, more people are turning to complementary/alternative medicine as an option.
- What Alternative Lung Cancer Treatments Work?
- Natural/Non-Medical Things That May Improve Lung Cancer Survival
- Qigong
- Yoga
- Acupuncture
- Massage Therapy
Chemotherapy Side Effects
How can you manage and cope with these common side effects of chemotherapy?
- Hair Loss
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Loss of Appetite
- Mouth Sores
- Taste Changes
- Bone Marrow Suppression
- Neutropenia (Low White Blood Cell Count)
- Anemia (Low Red Blood Cell Count)
- Thrombocytopenia (Low Platelets)
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Chemobrain
- Skin Changes
- Fingernail Changes
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Long Term Side Effects of Chemotherapy
Quitting Smoking
Quitting smoking is the most important thing you can do to prevent lung cancer, and likely improves survival for those living with lung cancer as well.
- Smoking and Lung Cancer
- Effects of Smoking on Health
- Secondhand Smoke
- Reasons To Quit After a Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
- How Do Lung Cancer Patients Feel When Family Members Smoke?
- Coping With Having Smoked With Lung Cancer
- What Percentage of Smokers Get Lung Cancer?
- Diseases Caused by Smoking
- Your Quit Smoking Toolbox
Metastatic Lung Cancer Treatments
Metastatic lung cancer treatments depend on the location that lung cancer has spread (metastasized) to, and the symptoms you are experiencing.
