The lungs lying above the diaphragm and under the rib cage make up one of the largest organs in the body. The lungs take carbon dioxide from the bloodstream in exchange for oxygen. This vital process is largely affected when infections and diseases, including cancer, occur, making it difficult to breathe.

Lung cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer for both males and females. Smoking is the main risk factor for a person’s chance of developing the disease. Lung cancer limits the patient’s ability to perform daily activities. Treatment options must be discussed carefully with healthcare providers with the goal of minimally disrupting lifestyle.

Oncologists work alongside practitioners from different medical disciplines to provide medical support to patients helping them to remain healthy and active as much as possible. Naturopathy, nutrition, and pain management are usually integrated with conventional lung cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.

Two types of lung cancer are small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).

Non-small cell lung cancers are the more often diagnosed cancer type which spread over a longer period of time. The three types of non-small cell lung cancers are adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinomas arise in the mucus-providing glands within the lungs. Squamous cell carcinomas arise in the bronchial tube lining. Large cell carcinomas arise in areas close to the surface of the lungs and are the most aggressive type of non-small cell lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer begins in the lung tissue and spreads more rapidly than most non-small cell lung cancers. Only about 20 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed as small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancers may have different symptoms and may entail different treatment methods apart from non-small cell lung cancers.

Stages of Lung Cancer vary depending on the two types: non-small cell lung cancers and small cell lung cancers. Staging is the process of identifying the extent of the cancer. It is important because treatment, prognosis, and survival depend on the information provided by the stage of the cancer.

Correct staging of lung cancer is very important in treatment planning. Treatment choices are usually complicated and experts largely depend on the stage of the disease to identify if a particular treatment procedure must be applied. Physicians are faced with the challenge of applying surgery; if it must be done immediately, or later. Should radiation therapy be combined with chemotherapy? Should chemotherapy be administered alone? Is chemotherapy and radiation required before surgery, after, or both?

Newly diagnosed patients undergo inter-disciplinary chest exams with cooperation of radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, pulmonologists, pathologists, and endosonographers.

Stages of Lung Cancer for small cell lung cancer may be limited or extensive. In limited-stage, cancer is found in one lung, the tissues in between the lungs, and adjacent lymph nodes only. In extensive-stage, cancer has spread outside the lung and began to invade other parts of the body.

Stages of Lung Cancer for non-small cell lung cancer uses a system called the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) system. The stages are described with the use of Roman numerals from 0 to IV. Other staging systems are further divided into A and B for each roman numeric stage. The rule is: the lower the number, the lesser the cancer extent; the higher the number the greater cancer extent.

A comprehensive batch of test results will help the doctor identify the cancer stage. It is important that patients understand the stage and its consequences to help them participate in making the decision on which treatment is best.

Non-small cell lung cancer survival rate for stage I is 56 percent. Stage II presents a survival rate of 34 percent. Stage III presents a survival rate of 10 percent. And stage IV presents a survival rate of 2 percent. These survival rates are based on five-year prognosis. The numbers indicated are based on statistical data on non-small cell lung cancer from 1988 to 2001. Improvements on treatment methods may have improved, thus survival rates may be a little higher than the given.

While statistics provide an overall picture, a patient’s situation relies on the unique attributes of the specific cancer. Individual chances of a cure, prognosis, and treatment methods may vary from one to another.