Lung Cancer Stages - Discover The Truth

By Paula Anfuso

Lung cancer stages are when a doctor learns the extent of the disease if a diagnosis is found to be lung cancer. The treatment of lung cancer varies depending on the size of the tumor and on how far it has spread. Staging is done to discover whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to what parts of the body. Lung cancer is notorious for spreading to the brain or bones, and knowing how far it has advanced helps the doctor plan the most useful treatment. Some tests used to determine whether the cancer has spread include CAT (or CT) scan, MRI, bone scan, mediastinoscopy/mediastinotomy.

Small Cell Lung Cancer
Limited, extensive, or recurrent are the three stages for small cell lung cancer.

Limited Stage: Cancer is found in one lung and in nearby lymph nodes. Treatment may well be one of the following: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the upper body/chest, chemotherapy with or without prophylactic cranial irradiation, surgery followed by chemotherapy with or without prophylactic cranial irradiation, clinical trials testing new drugs and new treatments.

Extensive Stage: Cancer has spread away from the lung to other tissues and organs in the chest and other parts of the body. Treatment may be one of the following: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the upper body/chest, radiation therapy to places in the body where the cancer has spread, clinical trials testing new drugs and new treatments.

Recurrent Stage: A cancer that has returned appearing in the lungs or in another part of the body. Treatment for recurrence can include be one of the following: Radiation treatment, chemotherapy, laser treatment, radiation therapy or surgical implant of devices to keep the airways open, clinical trial testing of new drugs.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer:

Non-small cell lung cancer uses a traditional staging system. Non-small cell lung cancer tumors may have many stages because they grow slower than small cell lung cancer.

Occult Stage: No tumor can be detected in the lung at this stage but cancer cells are found in the sputum. Lung cancer found at this early stage is often cured by surgery.

Stage 0: Cancer is found just in a local area of the lung and only in a few of the cells. Treatment may well be surgery or photodynamic therapy, as it has not yet grown through the top lining of the lung.

Stage I: Cancer is found only in the lung and is surrounded by normal tissue. Treatment may well consist of one of the following: Surgery, radiation therapy, clinical trials of chemotherapy, clinical trials of chemo-prevention, clinical trials of photodynamic therapy.

Stage II: Cancer has increased to include the nearby lymph nodes. Treatment may consist of: Surgery to remove the tumor and lymph nodes, radiation therapy, surgery and/or radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.

Stage 3A: Cancer has spread to the chest wall or diaphragm. It could have spread to the lymph nodes separating the two lungs or in the lymph nodes on the other side of the chest or in the neck. Treatment for stage IIIA can be treated with surgery, but will usually consist of the following: Surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments, surgery and radiation treatment, radiation treatment alone, laser therapy and/or internal radiation treatment.

Stage 3B: Cancer has spread to the chest wall and probably the diaphragm near the lung. It may also have spread to the lymph nodes in the area separating the two lungs and to the lymph nodes on the other side of the chest or in the neck. Stage IIIB cancer is usually inoperable. Treatment may be one of the following: Radiation treatment alone, chemotherapy plus radiation treatment, chemotherapy plus radiation treatment followed by surgery, chemotherapy alone.

Stage 4: Cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Treatment usually includes the following: Radiation treatment, chemotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation treatment, laser therapy and/or internal radiation treatment.

Recurrent: Cancer has returned after previous treatment. Treatment can include the following: Radiation therapy to control symptoms from the cancer, chemotherapy, chemotherapy with radiation treatment, surgery to remove the tumor, laser therapy or internal radiation treatment, radio-surgery.

A rough guide for non-small cell lung cancer survival by stage based on a 5-year survival rate: Stage 1 is 47%, Stage II is 26%, Stage III is 8%, and Stage IV is 2%. These 5-year rates are based on patients diagnosed and originally treated more than five years ago, so the survival rate presently should be more promising. - lung cancer stages

Kidney Cancer Symptoms

By Rita Goldman

Kidney Cancer Symptoms - Kidney cancer has direct links to a person's urine because the kidneys play a vital role in filtering waste products out of our blood. And like other forms of cancer, kidney cancer may not immediately produce symptoms or, if and when symptoms do appear they may have done so for reasons other than cancer. A person with an infection or a cyst for example, will present as would someone with kidney cancer. Initially a tumor in the kidney may be very small in which case there may well be few if any symptoms at all.

Kidney Cancer Symptoms is likely to be found more in people over 55 years of age and is more common in men than in women. There are several factors which are believed to influence the cause of kidney cancer and the interesting thing is that many of these factors are able to be controlled by the patient; two excellent examples being smoking and obesity. Don't smoke and do lose weight are two ways to reduce your risk of developing kidney cancer.

Symptoms of this disease are as follows:

o Blood is seen in one's urine and this is the most common symptom. But this symptom can be because a person has kidney stones, an infection or, in the case of many men, an enlarged prostate gland.

o A lump or swelling in the area of the kidney.

o General lethargy and tiredness.

o A pain or ache which persists in the lower back or lower side.

o Sudden weight loss and/or loss of appetite.

o Sweating, fever and the like.

The kidneys carry out vital roles within the body including filtering blood and making hormones. These hormones regulate blood pressure, control calcium levels and help in the manufacture of red blood cells. Healthy kidneys go a long way to making a healthy body.

There are some interesting facts about kidney cancer symptoms. The first is that most kidney cancers are discovered when the doctor is checking a patient for something unrelated to kidney cancer. We each have two kidneys and to have a kidney removed in order to beat the disease normally makes little difference. We are usually able to function quite normally with just one kidney. In fact some elite athletes perform and perform well having had one of their kidneys removed. In some cases of kidney cancer, only a part of the diseased kidney is removed leaving the patient with one and half kidneys, so to speak, to continue living a healthy and normal life.

As with any form of cancer, any patient who has one or more of the symptoms listed above should immediately see their doctor and explain their condition. It may be there no cancer present but if there is, the sooner the tests are carried out and the treatment begun, the better are your chances of a good recovery.

The health of our blood is greatly influenced by the health of our kidneys. Give them the best chance to shine by avoiding bad things and giving your body all the goodness of natural, healthy living.

Cancer Centers of America

Cancer centers of America are growing due to the increase in the number of cancer patients over the years. Cancer is a disease that has killed many lives as well as ruined the lives of families that were once happy and because of that, cancer centers are constantly trying to find new alternative treatments to treat cancer. As time passes, the side effects from the treatments will be lessened such as the balding from chemotherapy and eventually, I believe that one day cancer will have a cure. Cancer centers around the world now are offering affordable treatment to those that need it and there are even some who offer luxurious treatments to those who can afford it.

Devoted to saving the lives of cancer patients, cancer centers of America are places where people put their hopes in. People send their loved ones to these centers in hopes of seeing them recover or have their cancer cells go into remission after chemotherapy. As of now, all cancer centers offer chemotherapy which is basically using radiation to blast the cancer cells into remission. However, chemotherapy has an unfortunate side effect of making you lose all your hair making almost all cancer patients bald or at the very least, partially bald.

Cancer Centers of America: Offer Treatment and Support While Helping Patients to Fight Against Cancer

Though many cancer centers of America offer the traditional chemotherapy treatments, there are also cancer centers that offer alternative treatments such as feeding their patients wholesome, organically grown food and offering to alter their entire lifestyle coupled with acupuncture. Basically, cancer centers are not only places where cancer patients can seek treatment for their disease but it is also a place where they can find peace with people that have the same problem as them and try to feel better about having cancer. Most people do not know it but cancer is actually able to be put into remission and there are even cases where the cancer totally disappears.

Even though many cancer centers of America are not for profit organizations and aims solely to help cancer patients in dire need of affordable treatment, there are also for profit cancer centers that offer luxury services such as single rooms and food that is comparable to that from a five star hotel. Just research the cancer center near you if you are not sure if it is for profit or not for profit organization. You can also go online to read some reviews about the cancer center that you plan to go to and see whether they have good reviews or not. That should help you make the choice.

As the medical field discovers new advances in cancer treatments, more and more cancers are able to be cured for a cost that is much lower than the past. Cancer patients today are not only able to enjoy longer, happier lives but are also able to work to earn a livelihood. All of these are possible today because of the advancements made by cancer centers of America.