Lung cancer is a serious disease characterized by the presence of symptoms such as cough, hoarseness, difficulty in breathing and weight loss.
Despite its severity, lung cancer is curable when identified early, and its treatment, which can be done with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy, and can last for months or years. However, the most common is that lung cancer is discovered in the advanced stage of the disease, which develops very fast, with less chance of cure.
Life time with lung cancer
Lung cancer is the type of cancer that kills the most in the world, being more common in smokers, which is the cause of almost 90% of cases. However, it can also appear in patients who are constantly exposed to cigarette smoke or chemicals that are considered carcinogenic, such as Arsenic, Carbon or Lead, for example.
Life expectancy after the discovery of lung cancer varies between 7 months to 5 years, depending on several factors, such as general health, type of lung cancer and start of treatment. Even when this type of cancer is discovered in the initial stage (T1 = tumor ≤ 3 cm in diameter) the chances of a cure are not very high, because it has a great chance of coming back, which happens in about half of the cases.
Treatment for lung cancer
Treatment for lung cancer will depend on the severity of the situation, with the doctor deciding whether to undergo surgery, radiation or chemotherapy or the combination of the three procedures, and the addition of biological therapy.
Generally, cancer is treated in reference centers such as INCA - National Cancer Institute, but in the most advanced cases of the disease, and depending on the patient's age, the doctor can only indicate palliative care, to eliminate pain and discomfort, but without hope to cure the disease.
See how lung cancer treatment is done.
The average time from the onset of symptoms to the diagnosis of this disease is approximately 2 months, and from the onset of symptoms to the beginning of cancer treatment is an additional 2 months.
