Lung cancer treatment Orange County patients have different options based on different factors, such as the stage of cancer, the type, your preferences, and your overall health.
Surgery
For lung cancer treatment that involves surgery, a surgeon removes the lung cancer and a portion of the healthy tissue around it. Procedures to remove lung cancer include a wedge resection, segmental resection, lobectomy, or a pneumonectomy. Depending on the surgery, a small section of the lung could be removed or the entire lung. If undergoing surgery, your surgeon could also remove lymph nodes to check for any signs of cancer. Surgery can be a good option if the cancer is just confined to the lungs. However, if it has spread, there may be other options you need that can shrink the cancerous cells before surgery.
Radiation
This treatment uses high m-powered energy beams to kills the cancer cells. For those who have localized cancer, radiation can be used before or after surgery and can be used in combination with other treatments. If surgery isn’t an option, chemotherapy with radiation can be the primary treatment.
Chemotherapy
With chemotherapy, treatment involves using drugs to kill the cancer cells. One or more types of drugs can be given either orally or intravenously. A combination of drugs is given over a series of months or weeks to recover in between. Chemotherapy is often used with other treatment types, such as surgery, in order to kill cancer cells that can remain. It can be used to shrink tumors before surgery to make them easier to remove.
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy
This option is an intense treatment that gives you many beams of radiation from many different angles at the cancer. This treatment can be an option for those who can’t have surgery with small tumors.
Immunotherapy
This therapy uses the immune system to fight cancer. It is used for those with locally advanced lung cancer.