Avoid 3 Misunderstandings about Lung Cancer Treatment in the Elderly

Comprehensive treatment with surgical resection as the main treatment option is the preferred treatment option for lung cancer patients. However, due to people's lack of understanding of the treatment of lung cancer, especially elderly lung cancer patients, there are currently three misunderstandings.

Myth 1: Thinking that surgery will hasten the patient’s death

Surgery and anesthesia are indeed a blow to elderly patients. If too much lung tissue is removed during surgery and the lung tissue and lung function are not well protected, it will indeed have a certain impact on the patient's quality of life. However, as long as the preoperative condition assessment is done carefully and the principle of "maximum tumor removal and maximum lung tissue preservation" is followed, the tumor is completely removed and lung function is preserved as much as possible, surgical treatment is feasible and safe.

Myth 2: Thinking that surgery is not suitable for elderly patients

For elderly lung cancer patients, whether surgery is appropriate is more about the patient's physiological age than their actual age. As long as the patient's physical condition, especially their cardiopulmonary function, can tolerate surgery, they can choose surgery regardless of their age, and thoracoscopic surgery is the best option because it is less invasive, causes less loss of lung function, and has fewer postoperative complications.

Myth 3: Traditional Chinese medicine is the main method for treating lung cancer in the elderly

It is undeniable that Chinese medicine has a certain auxiliary role in the treatment of lung cancer, especially in improving the patient's physical fitness, increasing immunity, and improving surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy tolerance. However, Chinese medicine cannot be used as the main treatment method. Because so far, there is no definite evidence that taking Chinese medicine alone can cure lung cancer.