Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer worldwide, killed over 160,000 Americans in 2007, according to the Merck Manual. Cigarette smoking causes around 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute reports that treatments for lung cancer include surgical removal of part or all of the lung, radiation, chemotherapy, laser therapy and, in rare cases, watchful waiting. After treatment, side effects may occur and close follow-up will be necessary to evaluate effectiveness of the treatment.
Side Effects
Side effects after lung cancer treatment vary, depending on the type of treatment. Localized cancers, which occur in one third of lung cancer patients, may be surgically removed if the person is in good general health and has good lung function. Removing part of the lung may necessitate use of oxygen after surgery to compensate for decreased lung capacity. Chemotherapy causes temporary hair loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting that improve after treatment is stopped.
Radiation for lung cancer can cause fatigue that lasts for several months after treatment, chest hair loss which may be temporary or permanent, and temporary appetite loss. Esophagitis, inflammation of the esophagus, makes it painful to swallow and eat. Esophagitis lasts for around three weeks after radiation treatment, according to RadiologyInfo.org.
Evaluation
Frequent medical evaluation remains necessary after treatment to check for complications or recurrence of the disease. Methods of evaluation include chest x-rays, CT scans, blood work and ultrasound scan.
Smoking Cessation
Patients who have undergone treatment for lung cancer should not smoke. After analyzing data from 10 studies, researchers from the University of Alabama Birmingham found that continuing to smoke after diagnosis with early stage lung cancer increased a patient's chances by dying by two to three times.
Recurrence
If lung cancer recurs, treatment may depend on the type of treatment originally used. Patients who had surgical removal of the tumor usually receive radiation therapy, according to the Merck Manual. Chemotherapy, surgical removal, and brachytherapy, placement of radiation in the form of pellets near the tumor, may be considered, depending on the location.
Prognosis
Even with treatment, prognosis for lung cancer remains poor, although patients diagnosed as stage I survive longer than those with more advanced disease. The overall five-year survival rate for lung cancer is less than 15 percent. Small cell cancer, an aggressive disease, has spread, or metastasized, in 60 percent of patients by the time it's detected, according to the Merck Manual. Around 40 percent of non-small cell cancers have already spread at the time of diagnosis.
