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Cancer care: Lung cancer

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Lung cancer treatment

Your lung cancer treatment

Our patients work with their care team to identify the lung cancer treatments best for them.

Your lung cancer treatment plan considers the tumor's location and size, if the cancer has spread, and your general health.

Choosing the best lung cancer treatment plan may be overwhelming. That's why we encourage our patients to seek a second opinion.

Lung cancer treatments

These options may be a part of your lung cancer treatment plan.

Surgery
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)
Chemotherapy
Biotherapy
Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Radiation therapy
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)

Dealing with cancer treatment side effects

Cancer treatment can cause many side effects. Here's how to deal with some common side effects.


Source: Virginia Piper Cancer Institute; Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Laser Services, Photodynamic Therapy; American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute
Reviewed by: Katie Schwarzkopf, manager, Lung Program at theVirginia Piper Cancer Institute - Abbott Northwestern.com
First Published: 09/11/2009
Last Reviewed: 09/01/2011

Cancer rehabilitation

Whether you are a lung cancer survivor or are undergoing cancer treatment, you may face symptoms that interfere with daily life. Our cancer rehabilitation team can help you overcome:

  • weakness
  • inability to exercise/fitness
  • difficulty with balance or walking
  • thinking and memory problems
  • tight or painful muscles and joints
  • difficulty with daily living tasks
  • difficulty with hand dexterity
  • swelling (edema).

For an appointment, call 612-863-8947.

Cancer research

Participating in a clinical trial may help you take a more active role in your health care. You may also gain access to new drugs, treatments and disease management practices.

Lung cancer stages

When diagnosed with lung cancer, you will be told at what stage the cancer is.

Lung cancer stages outline how "bad" or "advanced" your disease is. They can help you and your care team evaluate what lung cancer treatments may help.

Our doctors use the TNM staging system to define lung cancer stages.

T is for "tumor."
N is for "lymph nodes."
M is for "metastatic spread."

Numbers or letters appearing after T, N and M give more details about lung cancer stages.

  • "0" is the earliest stage of lung cancer.
  • Numbers increase in severity until four.
  • "4" is final stage lung cancer.

Final stage lung cancer

In general, early stage cancers have a better prognosis than late stage cancers. That is why early lung cancer detection is important.

In the final stages of lung cancer, the cancer can be any size. It may or may not be in nearby lymph nodes. The cancer has spread to other organs.

In final stage lung cancer, hospice and palliative care become central to a lung cancer treatment plan.


Source: American Cancer Society, How Is Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Staged?; How Is Small Cell Lung Cancer Staged?; Virginia Piper Cancer Institute
Reviewed by: Paula Colwell, RN, manager, Virginia Piper Cancer Institute Lung Cancer Program
First Published: 09/30/2009
Last Reviewed: 09/11/2009

Cancer research

Participating in a clinical trial may help you take a more active role in your health care. You may also gain access to new drugs, treatments and disease management practices.

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