Lung Cancer, Small Cell Health Article

Coping with cancer treatment

The side effects associated with treatment of small cell lung cancer can be severe. Patients should ask their doctor about medications to treat nausea and vomiting and other side effects. It is particularly important to eat a nutritious diet and to drink plenty of fluids. In addition, most patients report feeling very tired and should get plenty of rest.

Clinical trials

Most of the improvements in the survival of patients with small cell lung cancer are the result of clinical trials. Ongoing trials are investigating new chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens. In addition, entirely new types of therapy, such as gene therapy and biological therapy, are now being tested. Patients with a lung cancer diagnosis should ask their doctor about participating in a clinical trial.

Information on open clinical trials is available on the Internet from the National Cancer Institute at <http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov>.

Prevention

The best way to prevent lung cancer is either not start smoking, or quit smoking. Secondhand smoke from other people's tobacco should also be avoided. Appropriate precautions should be taken when working with substances that can cause cancer (carcinogens). Testing houses for the presence of radon gas, and removing asbestos from buildings have also been suggested as preventive strategies.

Special concerns

Small cell lung cancer can cause several hormonal disorders. About 40% of patients begin to secrete an anti-diuretic hormone at the wrong time. This hormone causes the body to retain water, which may result in the patient experiencing confusion, seizures, or coma. Less common are the development of Cushing's syndrome and the Eaton-Lambert syndrome. Symptoms of Cushing's syndrome include obesity, severe fatigue, high blood pressure, backache, high blood sugar, easy bruising, and bluish-red stretch marks on the skin. Eaton-Lambert syndrome is a neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle weakness, fatigue, and a tingling sensation on the skin. All of these hormonal disorders usually diminish after the lung tumor is successfully treated.

See Also Superior vena cava syndrome; Smoking cessation

Resources

BOOKS

Pass, Harvey I. et al. Lung Cancer Principles and Practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2000.

PERIODICALS

Adjei, Alex A. et al. "Current Guidelines for the Managementof Small Cell Lung Cancer." Mayo Clinic Proceedings 74 (August 1999): 809-16.

Sandler, Alan. "Extensive Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Treatment Overview." Oncology 14, no. 7, supplement 5 (July 2000): 49-55.

Tamura, Tomohide. "New State of the Art in Small Cell Lung Cancer." Oncology 15, no. 1, supplement 1 (January 2001): 8-10.

ORGANIZATIONS

Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, and Education. P.O. Box 849, Vancouver, WA 98666. (800) 298-2436.<http://www.alcase.org>.

American Lung Association. (800) 586-4872. <http://www.lungusa.org>.

National Cancer Institute (National Institutes of Health). 9000Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892. (800) 422-6237.<http://www.nci.nih.gov>.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (National Institutes of Health). P.O. Box 8218, Silver Spring, MD 20907-8218. (888) 644-6226. <http://nccam.nih.gov>.

Lata Cherath, Ph.D.

Alison McTavish, M.Sc.

QUESTIONS TO ASK THE DOCTOR

• What type of lung cancer do I have?
• Has the cancer spread?
• What are the treatment options?
• Should I consider a clinical trial?

Bronchi

—Hollow tubes that carry air into the lungs.

PCI

—A type of radiotherapy that is used to prevent tumors from growing in the brain.

Radionuclide bone scan

—A test that tells if cancer has spread to the bones.

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome

—A condition seen in lung cancer patients where the tumor presses against a large blood vessel and causes various symptoms.