LUNG CANCER STAGE TREATMENT AND EFFECTS IN FINAL STAGE

The therapy that is becoming popular nowadays is the targeted therapy. The aim of this therapy is to attack the proteins of cancerous cells and kill them. Though this flows through non cancerous cells it won’t create impact on them. The side effects that are suffered by this method are less when compared to others. The medicine given in this method attacks the central proteins of the cancer cells and doesn’t allow them to give command to divide. There is also another method in this therapy wherein the nutrient supply to the cancer cell is cut off which stops the further growth. These are mostly used in higher stages of cancer where treatment is not possible without worst side effects. This helps to extend the life span of the patients. It is usually performed for those who have never smoked and for women because they show faster response when compared to people who smoke. Periodic treatments have to be done even after treatment. This is just a temporary cure and recurrence is possible once the proteins revive its activity. Therefore regular checkups is advised for such patients.

Staging in any type of cancer is important because the severity of cancer only determines the treatment for it. There are two stages that are classified in the small cell lung cancer based on the proliferation of the cancer. They are limited stage and extensive stage small cell lung cancer. In limited stage, the cancer is locked up only in one lung and may have proliferated to area between lungs and lymph nodes but not to other parts of the body. One-third of small cell lung cancer can be identified at this stage. In extensive stage, the cancer has proliferated to the other lung also and to distant organs like brain. Two-thirds of small lung cancer is found at this stage. Tumor at limited stage is curable with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. If it is in the extensive stage, the cure is unlikely, the aim of treatment will be to extend the life span and reduce the symptoms of tumor. Many tests are done to determine the stage of the lung cancer. The various tests are physical examination, blood tests, CT scan of chest (to find the spread of the tumor), CT scan of abdomen (to look for spread in liver), CT or MRI of the brain (to look for brain metastases) and bone scan.

The consequences of chemotherapy differ according to age and the health condition of the person. For some patients the side effects are less severe in the beginning but will get worse at the later stage. For some patients some kind of medications can be done to reduce the side effects. Nowadays the management of side effects is improved due to technological growth. The thing is the patient should share any kind of allergy they face to the doctor in correct time so that he can take necessary action to it. Most distressing side effect is the hair loss. A patient starts to lose their hair after a week of treatment but then it starts to grow after 2 months. Wigs and other head coverings remains the best alternative. Diarrhea can also occur during chemotherapy which poses the risk of dehydration. For some chemotherapeutic patients, the side effects may include numbness. Clinical trials are being performed to find ways for reducing these side effects. Healthy diet and proper exercise has to be performed to prevent from becoming weak.

In the final stages of lung cancer patients starts to show many physical changes. At this stage, all possible treatments become exhausted. The possible treatments will be for minimizing the pain and improving their comfort. Fluid starts to mount up around the lungs. This may result in trouble in breathing. So the patients with this kind of suffering can drain the fluid from their lungs often. If lung cancer is near the airway, it will block the air pipe and in some cases bleeding can also occur. The lung cancer spreads to bone more easily especially chest and spine. Fracture can also occur if this happens. A proper pain medication has to be given. Sometimes radiation therapy is done to decrease the rate of spread. Tiredness will become common at the final stages. Patients will lose weight and become anemic. During the final days, patients will enter into a phase where all their vital organs will start to die one by one. Their skin will become cool. They will stop taking any kind of food. Breathing will become irregular and at one stage their soul parts their body.

Final stage of cancer in the sense the cancer growth has become worst and it cannot be treated anymore. The pain is the worst part of cancer. It may vary among different people. Some may suffer a lot of pain and some don’t even feel it. Some may suffocate to breathe and some may be able to breathe normally in room air. It all depends on the worseness of the cancer spread. There are many cases where patients will try hard with many treatments till the end though they know it cannot be cured and death is assured. Some patients accept death and will try to live those last days happily with their loved ones. Though there is no cure for cancer at this stage, there are medicines which can slow down the death process or helps patients not to feel their pain. At this stage, having loved people around them gives them strength to face death. Patients at this stage are more emotionally agitated. They will want to see all their relations for the last time. Eventually they talk less and sleep more in the last few days. Slowly they breathe less and less. Listening is one of the final senses during dying process.