Foley 1

Jenna Foley

Professor Hunter

ENG 1201

27 April 2021

What is the Most Successful Treatment for Lung Cancer?

Unfortunately, lung cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer and the leading

cause of cancer death in both men and women. It begins in the lungs, and has a high

chance of spreading to other organs in the body. It occurs in people who smoke

cigarettes. This topic is important to myself and my family because my grandfather was

recently diagnosed with stage four non-small cell lung cancer this past January. It is

never easy to hear that a loved one is sick, especially with any kind of cancer. This

news has taken an emotional toll on me and the rest of my close family. The cancer in

my grandfather's lungs has spread to his spine, kidneys, and brain. It is extremely

unsettling to be in this position because we do not know how much longer we have with

him. It is important to know what the most successful and effective treatments are, so

that we choose the one that is going to do the best job of expanding his life span and

managing his pain symptoms. Becoming educated on each type of treatment is

something that I deem necessary. All methods of lung cancer treatment have positive

and negative effects, but the most effective one is radiation therapy, based on its ability

to slow the growth of cancer cells and relieve pain.

Before learning about each type of treatment method, it is essential to

understand basic information about lung cancer, including type, risk factors, and

symptoms. There are two general types, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung
 Foley 2

cancer. Small cell lung cancer is much less common than non-small cell. There are

multiple risks for developing this disease, including smoking, exposure to secondhand

smoke, exposure to radon gas, and family history. Smoking cigarettes is the leading

cause of lung cancer, and the risk “increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke

each day and the number of years you have smoked” (“Lung Cancer”). Cigarettes

contain carcinogens, a substance that is capable of causing cancer in living tissue. They

almost immediately damage the cells that line the lungs. Having lung cancer causes

symptoms and complications, including a cough that doesn’t go away, shortness of

breath, chest pain, weight loss, bone pain, and headaches. The worst complication that

can happen is when the cancer cells in lungs begin to metastasize, or spread, to other

parts of the body, “such as the brain or bones” (“Lung Cancer”). Once lung cancer has

spread outside of the lungs, it is not curable. Treatments are available for patients to live

longer and decrease symptoms. The next step is choosing the type of treatment that is

the most effective.

Another important thing to understand is what each stage of lung cancer means.

About 85% of lung cancers are non-small cell cancer, compared to small cell cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer has four main stages. Stage 1 is when the cancer is found

only in the lung and hasn’t spread anywhere else. Stage 2 is when the cancer cells are

in one lung and in the nearby lymph nodes. Stage 3 happens when the cancer is in the

lung and has spread to the lymph nodes in the middle of the chest. Finally, stage 4 is

when the cancer has spread to both lungs and to other organs in the body. Normally,

the lung cancer cells will spread to the brain, kidneys, and bones. Unfortunately, my

grandfather has stage 4 cancer because his cells have spread to other major organs in
 Foley 3

his body. Small cell cancer has two stages, the limited stage and the extensive stage.

The limited stage is when the cancer is in one lung and nearby lymph nodes. During the

extensive stage, the cancer spreads to the opposite lung, opposite lymph nodes, or

other organs in the body.

Understanding the history and outcomes of lung cancer patients from five to ten

years ago is important in deciding what treatment is the best option (“What is the

Success Rate of Lung Cancer Treatments?”). Based on the past decade, it has been

noted that survival rates are higher and treatments are more successful when a patient

is diagnosed with early-stage cancer, they are younger than 50 years old when they are

diagnosed, and they have non-small cell lung cancer rather than small cell lung cancer.

Researchers discovered this information by studying the history of lung cancer patients

to help improve treatment options for future patients. There have been recent advances

in treatments, including hormone therapy and immunotherapy that are steadily

improving everyday (“What is the Success Rate of Lung Cancer Treatments?”).

According to research, the most popular and best method used to treat lung

cancer is radiation therapy. It directly targets the certain spot of the body with cancer

cells (“Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer”). Compared to the other options, radiation

therapy is the most effective in slowing the growth of cancer cells in patients whose

cancer has spread throughout the body. Radiation also does not have as many

downsides as the other options. Doctors use “high energy x-rays or other types of

radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing” (National Cancer Institute).

There are two types, external radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy. External

is the use of a machine outside of the body to send radiation toward the area of the
 Foley 4

body with cancer. Internal is the use of a radioactive substance in needles or wires that

are placed in or near the cancer. The schedule of radiation consists of a certain number

of treatments over a set period of time. Radiation therapy only goes over a course of a

few days or a few weeks, and it is the best option because it focuses on one area of

your body at a time, therefore it causes less side effects. While going through treatment,

it is important for patients to be comfortable and in as little pain as possible. The less

side effects, the better.

With any treatment that you undergo, there are always going to be negative side

effects. It just depends on how bad they are and if they are worth decreasing your

quality of life. After experiencing radiation therapy, patients may encounter fatigue, loss

of appetite, sore throat, or skin irritation where the radiation was directed. Most of these

side effects will go away shortly after the treatment is finished. It does seem like some

of these negative effects are not fun, but going through these downsides are worth

trying to kill the cancer cells in your body and increase your lifespan.
 Foley 5

This is a visual representation of how radiation therapy targets the exact cancer spot or

tumor in the lungs. It directly attacks the cancer spot, quickly slowing the growth of cells.

Another treatment option for patients is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is an

effective method, but not as successful as radiation, and the side effects are intense. It

is the use of drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. The drugs are “taken by mouth or

injected into a vein or muscle” (National Cancer Institute). The drugs then enter the

bloodstream and are able to reach cancer cells throughout the body. Along with

radiation, chemotherapy also has some common side effects including fatigue, risk of

infection, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, numbness in hands

and feet, and hair loss. These already seem worse than radiation, but chemo also has a

chance of damaging healthy cells in the body. This happens because the drugs enter

the bloodstream and flow throughout the whole body, and they are not directed at one

specific part of the body, like radiation. Blood, skin, and nerve cells are all types of

healthy cells that can be damaged by chemo. This is a scary fact to consider when

choosing the best treatment. Patients with lung cancer already have cancer cells

spreading throughout their body, so they don’t need any healthy cells being destroyed.

My grandfather was undergoing a combined treatment plan of radiation therapy

and chemotherapy. He only had to do radiation once, back in February. They will have

to go back to the hospital in two months to revise and see if doing another treatment is

necessary. However, he does have to go to the hospital every three weeks to do his

chemotherapy treatments. The day after his last chemo treatment, he got a 102 degree

fever, his skin turned very red, and he was incoherent. He was confused and did not

know where he was, which is not normal. He was rushed to the hospital and had to stay
 Foley 6

there for three days. The doctors said that he developed some sort of infection and they

think that it was a reaction to his chemotherapy treatment.

If this situation didn’t seem bad enough, after he was released from the hospital,

he started having a hard time breathing while he was at home. My grandma took him

back to the hospital where they did some tests to see what was happening. He was

taking a new medicine, called Keytruda, along with the radiation therapy and

chemotherapy. The doctors figured out that the combination of Keytruda and

chemotherapy was destroying the healthy tissues and cells around his lungs. This is

making it hard for his lungs to expand, causing him to have a hard time breathing. At

this point, the chemotherapy has been hurting him more than helping him. It is so bad

that the doctors decided to stop all of his chemotherapy treatments. It is extremely

unfortunate that this treatment has been killing my grandfather when it was supposed to

be helping him. It makes my family and I wonder if it would have been a better idea to

only have him be treated with radiation therapy, and not chemotherapy.

Surgery is a common treatment method used on patients that have small cell

lung cancer. The goal is to remove the lung tumor and the nearby lymph nodes in the

chest (Cancer.net). A lobectomy, wedge resection, and pneumonectomy are the three

most common surgeries. The most effective way to remove a tumor from the lungs is to

have a lobectomy. This is when the surgeon removes an entire lobe from one of the

lungs, taking the tumor with it. If the surgeon is unable to remove an entire lobe, then

they will perform a wedge resection, which removes just the small portion of the lung

that has the tumor in it. A pneumonectomy is when the surgeon removes an entire lung.

This only happens when the tumor is closer to the center of the chest. Not only
 Foley 7

removing the tumor is important, but also the lymph nodes in the chest. The doctors will

check these for any signs of cancer as well (“Lung Cancer”). Surgery is the best option

if the cancer is confined to the lungs. However, as mentioned before, small cell lung

cancer is much less common than non-small cell lung cancer. Patients that have cancer

in their lungs most likely have cancer cells in other parts of the body as well. Therefore,

surgery would not be an option. Radiation is the next best method because it can target

cancer cells in any part of the body.

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the immune system and boosts

the body’s natural defenses to fight cancer. Materials made by the body or in a

laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against

cancer (National Cancer Institute). Immunotherapy treatments are not nearly as popular

or as effective as the other treatment options.

Targeted therapy is another type of treatment using drugs along with

chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This treatment targets the lung cancer’s genes,

proteins, and tissues that contribute to the cancer’s growth and survival. The three types

of targeted therapies are monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and

mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors. Target therapies cause “less harm to normal

cells than chemotherapy or radiation therapy do” (National Cancer Institute). However,

this specific type of treatment is reserved for people with advanced or recurrent cancer.

Along with this, this treatment only works in patients whose cancer cells have certain

genetic mutations. Every patient’s cancer cells are tested in a laboratory to see if these

drugs can help them.

 Foley 8

Patients that have lung cancer often experience side effects from the cancer

itself and the type of treatment they choose. Palliative care, also known as supportive

care, is working with a doctor to minimize the patient’s signs and symptoms. This care is

to ensure that all patients feel comfortable and supportive during treatment. According

to a study, people “with non-small cell lung cancer who began receiving supportive care

soon after their diagnosis lived longer than those who continued with treatments, such

as chemotherapy and radiation” (“Lung Cancer”). Along with this, their mood and quality

of life improved. Palliative treatments vary, including medication, nutritional changes,

relaxation techniques, emotional support, and spiritual support. Patients who receive

palliative care report that they are more satisfied with their other treatments. This is

something to seriously consider when you are going through lung cancer treatments. It

has many benefits to your physical and mental health when going through one of the

hardest challenges of life, having cancer.

In clinical trials, there are many new treatments being studied to create new ways

to prevent, treat, and manage the lung cancer disease. One example is

chemoprevention, which is the use of drugs or vitamins to reduce the risk of cancer. It

lessons the chance that a new tumor will form in the lungs. Radiosensitizers are being

studied as something that makes tumor cells easy to kill. Oncologists are studying

everyday to create new treatments that are successful in preventing and curing this

horrible disease.

Choosing the best method of treatment is based on how well the cancer cells are

slowed down and which option has the least side effects. Radiation therapy,

chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies are the most common
 Foley 9

and effective lung cancer treatments all around the world. However, the question is,

which one is truly the most successful? I have been asking myself this question for the

past few months because I want my grandfather to undergo the treatment that is the

most rewarding and will cause him the least pain and negative side effects. It is

common to not pay attention to every detail of the treatments until one of your closest

family members has to choose one of them. Based on research, when my grandfather,

or any lung cancer patient, undergoes radiation therapy, they will have the most

success in killing and slowing the growth of dangerous cells, relieving symptoms, and

expanding their life span.

Works Cited
 Foley 10

Cancer.Net, 2021, www.cancer.net/.

Durosini, Ilaria. “Patient Preferences for Lung Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative

Study Protocol Among Advanced Lung Cancer Patients.” Shibboleth

Authentication Request, Frontiers Media S.A., 2021, doaj-

org.sinclair.ohionet.org/article/785adc43ecb8474ba73ba923119fd609.

“Lung Cancer.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and

Research, 10 Oct. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lung-

cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374627#:~:text=If%20surgery%20isn't

%20an,relieve%20symptoms%2C%20such%20as%20pain.

National Cancer Institute, 2021, www.cancer.gov.

“Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer.” American Lung Association,

www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-

cancer/patients/treatment/types-of-treatment/radiation-therapy.

“What Is the Success Rate of Lung Cancer Treatments?” Moffitt Cancer Center,

moffitt.org/cancers/lung-cancer/faqs/what-is-the-success-rate-of-lung-cancer-

treatments/.