Introduction

Knowing about lung cancer disease is important before you proceed with looking for options for the best hospital for lung cancer treatment in India. When cancer begins in the lungs, it is categorised as lung cancer and it can either spread from lungs to other organs or other organs to lungs.

Cancer cells spreading from one organ to another organ are referred as metastases. Treatment modality for metastatic cancer to the lungs is decided on the basis of where it originated from (the primary site of cancer’s origin). Lung cancers usuallybegin in the cells that are lining the bronchi area and other parts of the lung like the bronchioles or alveoli.

There are 2 main types of Lung Cancer –

1. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
2. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC)

Majority of the lung cancer cases are NSCLC.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer

Patients diagnosed with lung cancer may or may not show any symptoms, till it reaches the advanced stage. If at all the lung cancer signs do show up, they would resemble that of a respiratory infection.

Some common signs and symptoms of lung cancer are listed below –

• Having frequent chest infections
• Having prolonged cough
• Hoarseness of voice
• Frequent chest pain
• Prolonged coughing that tends to get worse with time
• Coughing off blood
• Feeling of fatigue and tiredness all the time
• Weight loss and weakness

Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

There are a number of tests that the best lung cancer specialist in India may choose to recommend you in order to look out for the presence of cancerous cells in your lungs. Some of these tests include –

• Imaging tests
• Sputum Examination (Cytology)
• Bronchoscopy
• Biopsy
• CT Scan/MRI
• PET CT

Staging of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer staging is an essential part in finding what your treatment options could be. Normally, cancers that are in their initial stage are easier to treat but there are many people who have been able to live a longer life even with advanced-stage disease, post their treatment at lung cancer hospitals in India.

Lung cancer staging helps in finding out –

• Location of lung cancer cells
• Extent to which lung cancer has spread
• Size of the lung cancer tumor

All these findings further help in determining treatment options and also to some extent prognosis of your lung cancer.

Causes of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer can be caused due to various reasons, some of which are listed below –

• Smoking (approx. 80% of lung cancers arise from smoking)
• Passive smoking
• Exposure to Chemicals or environmental factors such as air pollution.
• Due to acquired or inherited genetic changes.

Lung Cancer Treatment in India

We are supported by the some of the best lung cancer treatment doctors in India who are recognized world over for their clinical expertise and excellent patient handling skills. Based upon the type of lung cancer and also the extent to which it has spread,these doctors suggest the line of treatment or treatment options.

It is noteworthy that most of the NSCLC cancers are treated through either surgical intervention, or radiation therapy or chemotherapy or targeted therapy or mostly a combination of these treatment modules. SCLC is normally treated through a combination of radiation and chemotherapy.

Now let us see all these treatment options in brief below –

• Surgery for Lung Cancer During the surgical intervention, your doctor will try toremove lung cancer and also a healthy tissue marginally. While doing surgery, your treating doctor might also remove the lymph nodes from your chest in order to verify the signs of cancer in your lungs. Surgical procedure is usually suggested as an option if your cancer is limited to your lungs.
• Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer Chemotherapy is normally used as a post-surgical treatment line in order to kill cancer cells that are remaining. Chemotherapy can also be used before surgery in order to decrease tumor size and make it easier to remove.
• Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Radiosurgery or Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy is a strong radiation therapy treatment that aims at many radiation bundles from various angles to target cancer. This can be an option for patients with small lung cancers and who are not able to undergo surgery. SBRT is known for delivering highly precise and intense doses of radiation to the lung cancer cells.
• Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer Immunotherapy involves the use of medicines to aid a patient’s own immune system to be able to recognize and hence destroy cancer cells in a more effective way.
• Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Targeted therapy is often talked about as a treatment option for people who have specific abnormalities in their cancer tumor.By obstructing these abnormalities, targeted treatments through medication can cause death of cancerous cells.
• Palliative Care Palliative Care is also known as Supportive Care and it is that medical specialty that involves working with your physician to seek help in minimizing your signs and symptoms associated with lung cancer.

Living with Lung Cancer

Living with lung cancer may seem to be challenging initially, both in terms of emotions as well as physically. But you can be rest assured once you decide to approach us or being your care partner.

We will help you get tips on talking about your recently diagnosed disease and coping with your emotional side, as well as find support groups. We will together take help of your oncologist and ask them to help in making plans for your future care.

Outcomes of Lung Cancer Treatment in India

Lung cancer can be deadly, but the contemporary emerging treatment options are proving that more and more people can now survive and very well recover from lung cancer, particularly if they receive an early diagnosis of the disease.

Some of the factors that affect the chances of a fruitful outcome include –

• your overall health condition
• your age
• stage of lung cancer at the time of diagnosis
• the type of cancer you have

It is not feasible to predict exactly how cancer will affect you, but your best doctor for lung cancer treatment in India canassist you and help understand what he or she expects by seeing the results of tests and other important aspects.