Lung Cancer Symptoms Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms About

Source(google.com.pk)

There are several options for treatment with stage 3A lung cancer, but with options come choices. And sometimes there's no clear cut direction as to which choice is best. For example, stage 3A non-small cell lung cancer is often treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, but the proper order of these treatments has been debated.
ALT TEXT

Researchers set out to answer this question. Should surgery be done first, followed up by chemotherapy (and at the same time or a later date radiation therapy) as is often done for people with breast cancer? Or should chemo and radiation be given first - the goal being to reduce the size of the tumor in effect making surgery easier and more successful?

In this study which looked at over 11,000 lung cancer patients, it was found that combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by lobectomy was associated with an improved survival rate. Regardless of whether surgery was done before or after chemo and radiation, those who had surgery fared much better than those who had chemo and radiation alone.

It's important to keep in mind that these are only statistics. For individuals with lung cancer another order or choosing different methods of treatment may be the best option. For example targeted therapies, or entering a clinical trial may be recommended. As long as controversy exists, it's important to carefully discuss all options with your oncologist, and perhaps get a second or third opinion. After all, survival rates are numbers, but we are talking about human lives.

    * Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Symptoms, Treatments, and Prognosis
    * First Steps to Take When You are Newly Diagnosed with Lung Cancer
    * How to Choose a Lung Cancer Treatment Center

Photo: National Cancer Institute, John Crawford (photographer)

Source:

Koshy, M. et al. Improved Survival Associated with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Clinical Stage IIIA(N2) Non-Small-Cells Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Published online 19 April 2013.

    * Comments (0)
    * Permalink
    * Share

Why Aren’t More Lung Cancer Patients In Clinical Trials?
Tuesday April 30, 2013

Clinical trials can make a difference for some people living with lung cancer. I know. I have a friend who has bypassed her predicted survival by years via a medication obtained only through clinical trials. In addition, my brother's family has a grandparent that lived well beyond what doctors would predict - after the same drug became available to the general public (which was only possible through the participation of others in clinical trials.)
ALT TEXT

It's not just me. The National Cancer Institute recommends that people with lung cancer consider taking part in clinical trials. Yet only a small percentage of people take part in these studies. Why?

One reason is that people are simply unaware of trials that are available. In this age of rapidly expanding knowledge it's not possible for one oncologist to stay abreast of every study being done. Thankfully several of the lung cancer organizations have banded together to help with that. The Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Matching Service is a free service that can help match you with trials based on your particular type and stage of lung cancer.

But there are other barriers as well. A recent study set out to examine some of these reasons why eligible patients were not enrolled in studies. The most common reason was a preference to seek out treatments closer to home (49%) followed by patient refusal (43%.) Knowing this, what can we do to make sure people who are eligible have this opportunity?

One important point is to make sure people understand the purpose of clinical trials. In other words, the reasons that you're not just being a guinea pig. Whether its stories about the holocaust, or fears based on rumors, that's just not the case now. But not all trials are the same, and this can be confusing. Some trials look to see if a new drug or treatment will improve survival, whereas others are designed to see if a new drug or treatment will help with comfort or improve quality of life (but not increase survival.) There are also different levels of testing. For example, a phase 1 trial is often the first study done on humans and is done mostly to see if a new treatment is safe. The benefit of these trials is primarily for others in the future (but there are exceptions in which the treatment may improve survival.) On the other hand phase 3 trials are often done as a way to compare a new treatment against the "gold standard" (the most widely accepted best treatment) to see if it works better. In some cases being involved in this type of study allows participants access to medications not available to the general public - medications that could possibly improve survival.

Wishing to find trials closer to home is a more difficult issue. It goes without saying that people feel more comfortable when they are at home amidst family and friends. Plus traveling for treatment can be expensive. But there are some options that can make this easier for those who are interested. Several cancer centers have organizations that provide free housing near the center (for example, 

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

 

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

 

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos 

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos 

Lung Cancer Symptoms 

Sign Ribbon cells Horoscope Symbol Tattoos Research Zodiac Sign Ribbon Tattoos

 

 

 

 

Hope Lodge.) Another option to keep in mind is that most travel expenses related to cancer treatment are deductible.