Innovative Therapies For Treating Lung Cancer

According to a survey, 13% of the deaths are caused by cancer every year. Cancer has been detected to develop in different parts of the body but lung cancer is one of the most deadly forms of this life threatening disease.

There are a number of ways for treating this disease but various factors contribute to making the decision of the therapy that should be given to a patient. Some of these factors are the type of lung cancer, the stage of the disease, patient’s physical condition and a number of medical conditions which help the therapists decide which kind of treatment should be given to the patient.

If it is possible to remove the cancer by means of surgery due to its presence in the lungs, the therapists may suggest a surgical operation. In this treatment therapy, the infected tissue is removed from lungs and the cancer can be prevented from spreading further. In some cases, the removal of the whole lung is also suggested if the disease in its early stage.

It can be paired with another therapy as and when required. New methods of lung surgery such as lobectomy, thoracotomy and sternotomy have also been discovered by which the patient will feel less pain and lose less amount of blood. These surgeries can be carried out with the help of video cameras involving least incisions.

 However, when the patient is in a later stage of the disease, surgical treatment is not suggested as it may cause the deficiency of lymphocytes in blood due to which the survival period of the patient is shortened. Thus, surgery is never recommended if the disease has reached to an advanced level.

Chemotherapy is another very common lung cancer treatments that involves oral intake of drugs that kill cancer cells. It is found to be very effective in case the cancer has spread to outside the lung and emphasizes on preventing the growth of the cancer cells. In some cases, a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is also suggested.

 Radiotherapy involves the bombardment of the location of cancer with targeted radiations, which in this case are lungs. It results in killing the cancer cells and extends up to three to six weeks. For undergoing this therapy, a good physical health of the patient is extremely important. Using various types of scans like CT and PET, the therapists try to locate the exact site of cancer cells so that they can be targeted precisely and minimum damage is caused to the surrounding healthy cells.

 Another therapy provided to lung cancer patients is cryotherapy which involves freezing the disease cells at very low temperatures to kill them and prevent their growth. Ultimately, these cells are removed from the body. Though there are a number of therapeutic lung cancer treatments available these days, yet a natural treatment can also be considered. These can also be used to support the conventional cancer treatments.