Treatment Options For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Radiation Therapy

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who cannot undergo surgery for any reason, whether it is they are not strong enough or their cancer is not able to be removed in this way, are often faced with radiation therapy. Radiation for this type of cancer is usually administered through external beam radiation. This is a method that uses high energy beams aimed at the affected area from a machine outside the patient’s body. It is aimed at a localized area to avoid damage to healthy tissue as much as possible. This, of course, is not always possible and some damage still occurs.

Lung cancer patients may also undergo a form of radiation therapy that uses radioactive material placed inside their body close to the cancerous tissue. This is intended to kill the cancerous cells. The radioactive material is normally removed from the patient’s body after a predetermined period.

Uncover more information on how radiation therapy and surgery may be used to treat lung cancer next.