| Lung cancer is a disease that is very hard to cure | | | | 2) Stage 2 disease - Patients with T1-2N1 represent a |
| with conventional medicine. About 80% of all cases | | | | small subset in the spectrum of this disease, usually |
| of newly diagnosed lung cancer are the non-small cell | | | | comprising less than 10% of patients coming to |
| type (NSCLC). A majority of these patients willhave | | | | surgery. The overall five-year survival of patients |
| inoperable disease on the basis of distant metastases | | | | with Stage 2 tumors is approximately 50-60%. In this |
| or locally advanced disease. For the remaining patients | | | | stage the tumors also start to invade the mediastinal |
| with early stage disease as well as selected patients | | | | pleura, fat, nerves, and pericardium, but not the |
| with locally advanced disease, surgery remains the | | | | major mediastinal vessels or organs. |
| best hope for cure. | | | | 3) Stage 3 disease - The preffered treatment for for |
| Less than 15% of all patients can presently be | | | | patients in Stage 3 A is complete resection via |
| expected to be cured of their disease. The changes | | | | lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection. |
| that a patient has of being cured depends of the | | | | Patients with left upper lobe tumors. have the best |
| stage he/she is at. There are 4 stages of lung cancer | | | | prognosis of all, with five-year survival rates as high |
| and each stages requires different treatments, | | | | as 42% when completely resected. Computed |
| although none of these treatments unfortunately is | | | | Tomography (CT) scanning 5 year survival rate is |
| very effective. Doctors may use several tests to | | | | approximately 30% following complete surgical |
| accurately stage a lung cancer, including laboratory | | | | resection. Patients with Stage 3 B are considered |
| tests, X-rays, CT scans, bone scans, and MRI scans. | | | | inoperable. The five-year survival for patients with |
| The 4 stages of lung cancer are | | | | T4 (carina) N0 tumors undergoing tracheal sleeve |
| 1) Stage 1 disease - Patients that have this early | | | | pneumonectomy has been reported to approach |
| stage typically have no symptoms and most are | | | | 20%. |
| cured with primary surgical excision. The tumors are | | | | 4) Stage 4 disease - Surgery for this stage is only |
| mostly found on a routine chest radiograph. | | | | limited for young, healthy patients with a solitary site |
| Nowadays many tumors are detected while they are | | | | of metastatic disease, and an easily resectable |
| still very small with computed tomography (CT). | | | | primary tumor contained within the chest. Five-year |
| Morbidity and mortality increase with higher stages of | | | | survival in these patients should approach 20%. Even |
| disease and extended resections. The overall | | | | if a cure is not obtained, survival is prolonged and |
| five-year survival for patients with completely | | | | quality of life improved. |
| resected stage I NSCLC is approximately 75%. | | | | |