How to Determine the Type of Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer Treatment

Lung cancer is a very serious disease that requires aggressive and prompt treatment. However, there is much debate in the medical industry as to what treatments work best and in what combinations. Once diagnosed with lung cancer, you can expect to undergo surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or some combination of the three. But there are several different types of drugs that fall under the classification of chemotherapy. What follows is a guide for determining which drug therapies are the best for treating this specific kind of cancer.

Instructions

Understand the Types of Drugs Used for Lung Cancer

• 1

  Learn what alkylating agents are. Having a good understanding of each type of cancer drug is important before making a decision. Alkylating agents are drugs that go straight to the DNA to cause damage, thereby killing cancer cells. However, they kill healthy cells as well and have been known to cause leukemia when used in high doses.

• 2

  Learn what topoisomerase inhibitors are. These drugs are used to stop the replication of cancer cells. They work by going after an enzyme called topoisomerase, a substance that's responsible for splitting apart DNA so it can replicate.

• 3

  Learn about mitotic inhibitors. These drugs work to stop cell replication as well by targeting enzymes that make a protein that makes cell reproduction possible.

• 4

  Learn what differentiating agents are. These drugs are actually very different than the ones described above. In fact, these drugs work by making cancer cells grow into normal adult cells.

• 5

  Learn what immunotherapy is. Though immunotherapy is still relatively new in comparison to other cancer treatments, it is being used with greater frequency nowadays because it helps the body's immune system better fight the cancer cells on its own.

Discuss Treatment Options

• 6

  Bring research materials with you to the doctor. Though your oncologist will be a trained professional, you should always do your own fact checking and research before discussing what form of chemotherapy you will use to treat your lung cancer.

• 7

  Be prepared to ask plenty of questions. Now is not the time to be passive. Take an active role in your treatment plan by asking any and every question that comes to mind. Nothing should be left to guesswork.

• 8

  Weigh your options. Your doctor will likely lay out all of the treatment types you can undergo for treating lung cancer; however, there are sure to be a few options. Take the time to discuss with your doctor which treatments he feels would best suit your case. If a combination of chemotherapy drugs are to be used, consider the side effects and their interactions with one another.

• 9

  Be prepared to trust your doctor's judgment. Being diagnosed with cancer is scary, but you can't second guess every treatment option your doctor lays before you. In the end, she is the one who has the education and experience to choose the correct chemotherapy drugs for your lung cancer. Trust her decisions.

• 10

  Begin treatment. Once your course of treatment has been decided upon, your doctor will initiate the treatment plan. The chemotherapy drugs you're prescribed plus surgery and radiation offer high success rates in the treatment of cancer.