Immunotherapy is still in its infancy, but it has promising implications for the treatment of lung cancer. Immunotherapy is currently only approved for non-small cell lung cancers and may not be right for everyone. It is often only FDA-approved for use after trying other interventions such as chemotherapy or radiation, but it may also be used in conjunction with these therapies.
In some cases, alternative or integrated medicine techniques can be helpful in the treatment of inoperable lung cancers. It is important to realize, however, that alternative medicine treatments are meant to be used in conjunction with other evidence-based treatment—not as a replacement for them.
Alternative and integrative medicine treatment techniques work to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of a person with regard to their medical treatment, care, and diagnoses. Several possible alternative medicine techniques may be helpful during the treatment of lung cancer, such as mind and body medicine meditation, yoga, and biofeedback , biology-based practices vitamins, herbs, and special diets , touch-based practices massage, chiropractic care, and reflexology , energy work reiki, tai chi, and therapeutic touch , and whole medical systems Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and naturopathic medicine.
Holistic nutrition is the discipline of addressing your unique nutritional needs and the role your diet plays in the treatment and manifestation of disease.
It is impossible to recommend one holistic treatment plan because each is tailored to the individual. In general, however, people with cancer can benefit from a diet full of lean and plant-based protein, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
The Mediterranean diet may even decrease your risk of cancer recurrence. The effects of meditation on health are well documented. Though meditation cannot cure, shrink, or otherwise directly affect cancer, it can improve mental health or well-being, which can reduce the perceived severity of symptoms.
There is promising evidence to suggest that meditation can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation, which could give people with lung cancer the courage or self-efficacy to continue the fight in light of sometimes grueling treatment options. Some people turn to nutrient supplementation during cancer treatment in order to bolster overall health. Many different types of lung cancer exist, so it is impossible to illuminate the different possible advantages and disadvantages of supplementation.
For example, some evidence suggests that antioxidants can help facilitate healing and prevent certain types of cancers, but they can actually facilitate the growth of other types of cancer. It is essential to review all desired supplementation with your physician and registered dietician.
Alternative therapy can work to address the negative side effects of cancer and the symptoms other treatments can produce. Alternative or integrative medicine can help increase energy, reduce pain, and more when used in conjunction with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.
During the course of your treatment, it is important to keep an open dialogue with your medical team regarding possible treatment options. Clinical trials can be a viable option for some people, especially when other clinical options have been exhausted. These treatment options are not widely available but present novel or innovative approaches to cancer treatment that may not yet be FDA-approved for widespread use. Your physician can provide further guidance if there is a new procedure, drug, or therapy that may be appropriate for your type of lung cancer.
The medications or procedures offered in these trials may not currently have strong research behind them or proof of their effectiveness. But, at some point, that was the case for every treatment now proven to be successful. Fewer than 1 in 20 people with cancer participate in clinical trials. If you're supporting or caring for someone with inoperable lung cancer, it's important to keep a positive, hopeful perspective and to help your loved one understand all the options available.
Even though they may come to fully understand what inoperable really means, it can be helpful to have someone there to remind them. Treatment options for lung cancer are making incredible strides in extending life and reducing debilitating side effects. Even if surgery isn't possible, there are options to help you manage lung cancer and enjoy a longer, fuller life compared to patients of previous generations. Limiting processed foods and red meats can help ward off cancer risk.
These recipes focus on antioxidant-rich foods to better protect you and your loved ones. Sign up and get your guide! American Cancer Society. What is lung cancer? Updated October 1, Clin Lung Cancer. Surgery for non-small cell lung cancer. Uramoto H, Tanaka F. Transl Lung Cancer Res. Choi JI. Medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer: best practices and long-term outcomes.
Translational Lung Cancer Research. Elmonaem A. Treatment outcome in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer at presentation Retrospective Study. Al-Azhar International Medical Journal. Thorac Cancer. Targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer immunotherapy: the beginning of the end of cancer?
BMC Med. National Cancer Institute. Immunotherapy to treat cancer. Updated September 24, American Society of Clinical Oncology. Updated June 1, Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
This can help to prolong life and relieve symptoms. Surgery isn't usually used to treat this type of lung cancer. This is because the cancer has often already spread to other areas of the body by the time it's diagnosed. However, if the cancer is found very early, surgery may be used. In these cases, chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be given after surgery to help reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
People may be concerned about being able to breathe if some or all of a lung is removed, but it's possible to breathe normally with 1 lung.
However, if you have breathing problems before the operation, it's likely these symptoms will continue after surgery. Before surgery, you'll need to have some tests to check your general state of health and your lung function. These may include:. Surgery is usually done by making a cut incision in your chest or side and removing a section or all of the affected lung.
Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed if it's thought that the cancer may have spread to them. In some cases, an alternative to this approach, called video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery VATS , may be suitable. VATS is a type of keyhole surgery, where small incisions are made in the chest.
A small camera is inserted into one of the incisions, so the surgeon can see the inside of your chest on a monitor as they remove the section of affected lung. You'll probably be able to go home 5 to 10 days after your operation. However, it can take many weeks to recover fully from a lung operation. After your operation, you'll be encouraged to start moving as soon as possible. Even if you have to stay in bed, you'll need to keep doing regular leg movements to help your circulation and prevent blood clots from forming.
A physiotherapist will show you breathing exercises to help prevent complications. When you go home, you'll need to exercise gently to build up your strength and fitness. Walking and swimming are good forms of exercise that are suitable for most people after treatment for lung cancer.
Talk to your care team about which types of exercise are suitable for you. As with all surgery, lung surgery carries a risk of complications. It is estimated that around 1 in 5 lung cancer surgeries will lead to complications. These complications can usually be treated using medicine or more surgery, which may mean you need to stay in hospital for longer.
Radiotherapy uses pulses of radiation to destroy cancer cells. There are a number of ways it can be used to treat lung cancer. An intensive course of radiotherapy, known as radical radiotherapy, may be used to treat non-small-cell lung cancer if you are not healthy enough for surgery.
For very small tumours, a special type of radiotherapy called stereotactic radiotherapy may be used instead of surgery. Radiotherapy can also be used to control the symptoms, such as pain and coughing up blood, and to slow the spread of cancer when a cure is not possible this is known as palliative radiotherapy. A type of radiotherapy known as prophylactic cranial irradiation PCI is also sometimes used during the treatment of small-cell lung cancer.
PCI involves treating the whole brain with a low dose of radiation. It's used as a preventative measure because there's a risk that small-cell lung cancer will spread to your brain.
For lung cancer, external beam radiotherapy is used more often than internal radiotherapy, particularly if it's thought that a cure is possible. Stereotactic radiotherapy may be used to treat tumours that are very small, as it's more effective than standard radiotherapy alone in these circumstances.
Internal radiotherapy is usually used as a palliative treatment when the cancer is blocking or partly blocking your airway. People having conventional radical radiotherapy are likely to have 20 to 32 treatment sessions. Radical radiotherapy is usually given 5 days a week, with a break at weekends.
Each session of radiotherapy lasts 10 to 15 minutes and the course usually lasts 4 to 7 weeks. Continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy CHART is an alternative way of giving radical radiotherapy. CHART is given 3 times a day for 12 days in a row.
Stereotactic radiotherapy requires fewer treatment sessions because a higher dose of radiation is given during each treatment. People having stereotactic radiotherapy usually have 3 to 10 treatment sessions. Chemotherapy uses powerful cancer-killing medicine to treat cancer. There are several ways that chemotherapy can be used to treat lung cancer. For example, it can be:. Chemotherapy treatments are usually given in cycles. A cycle involves taking chemotherapy medicine for several days, then having a break for a few weeks to let the therapy work and for your body to recover from the effects of the treatment.
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