Overview Of Effective Lung Cancer Treatment Options

Surgical Options

An individual with lung cancer has numerous surgical options available for treatment. The type of surgery used to treat lung cancer depends on several factors, including the size and exact location of the tumor. The surgical option used for smaller localized areas of cancer within the patient's lung is referred to as a wedge resection, where the cancerous tissue and a small margin of healthy lung tissue around it are removed. When the cancerous tissue is of a larger extent than what can be treated with the wedge resection procedure, a surgical procedure referred to as a segmental resection is performed. A segmental resection involves removing a larger portion of lung tissue that contains the malignant tumor. When the cancerous tissue infiltrates most of one of the five lobes of the lung, a procedure where an entire lobe is removed, referred to as a lobectomy, is utilized to treat lung cancer. When very little tissue of the lung can be spared due to full cancer infiltration of most of the lobes of the lung, a pneumonectomy or entire lung removal procedure is used. Some patients who cannot tolerate a major surgical procedure may have to consider other treatment options for their lung cancer.

Keep reading to reveal more ways lung cancer can be treated now.