What are the misunderstandings about medication for small cell lung cancer

What are the misunderstandings about the use of drugs for small cell lung cancer? People in life will inevitably get sick, and the common treatment method is to take drugs, but not all drugs are taken in the same way. So today we will learn about the misunderstandings about the use of drugs for small cell lung cancer:

Myth 1: Lung cancer is an old age disease and young people will not get it. Smoking will cause lung cancer, and non-smoking will not cause lung cancer.

Last month, our hospital diagnosed two young patients with small cell lung cancer. One patient was a 17-year-old male and the other was a 24-year-old female. Neither of them smoked. Some young people have family members who have had cancer. These young people are particularly sensitive to carcinogens, creating conditions for cancer to occur at a younger age. Young people's cells divide and reproduce vigorously, making them vulnerable to carcinogens. It is true that a history of smoking is a high-risk factor for small cell lung cancer, but this does not mean that non-smokers will not get small cell lung cancer. In recent years, industrialization (chemical pollution) and urbanization (car exhaust) have caused serious air pollution. For example, the current haze weather, the inhalation of toxic substances such as PM2.5 particles, and even Epstein-Barr virus infection and tuberculosis scars are often causes that people ignore.

Myth 2: Lung discomfort does not require examination

Chest pain, cough or blood in sputum are common symptoms or "basic symptoms" of small cell lung cancer. In the early stage of small cell lung cancer, chest pain and cough may not be so obvious, so many people do not take it seriously, thinking that it will be fine after a few days, or thinking that it is inflammation and taking some anti-inflammatory drugs will be fine. As a result, it is not uncommon for people not to go to the hospital for examination, resulting in "carelessness and loss of Jingzhou". The central type of cough of small cell lung cancer is manifested as a high-pitched metallic sound. Alveolar cancer coughs up a lot of mucus sputum. According to data, among the patients diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, only 20% of the patients are in the early stage of the disease, while 80% of the patients have developed to the middle and late stages. In fact, if early examination, early diagnosis and early surgical treatment can be achieved, the 5-year tumor-free survival rate of small cell lung cancer can reach 60% to 90%. It can be seen that once suspicious symptoms appear in the lungs, it is very necessary to go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

Myth 3: There is no need for surgery for elderly patients with small cell lung cancer or advanced small cell lung cancer

In clinical practice, we often hear such statements: "The tumor is too big to be operated on, and the patient will not live for a few days", "The elderly are too old and weak to be operated on". This actually involves the indications for small cell lung cancer surgery. Indeed, there are not many patients who can have surgery once small cell lung cancer is diagnosed, mainly because there are too few small cell lung cancers that are discovered in the early stage. When many small cell lung cancers are discovered, the tumors are already very large and cannot be operated on immediately; some tumors are not large, but have already metastasized to distant places. In fact, for patients who cannot undergo surgery immediately, chemotherapy can be used to shrink the tumor to achieve the purpose of reducing the stage, and then seize the opportunity for radical resection. Like the treatment principles of many solid tumors, only by undergoing radical surgery can patients with small cell lung cancer have the possibility of long-term survival. Clinical experience shows that age is not a contraindication for small cell lung cancer surgery. Even elderly people in their 80s can achieve good treatment results through surgery and comprehensive treatment.

Myth 4: There is no need to treat advanced small cell lung cancer

Because some patients with small cell lung cancer did not receive timely diagnosis and treatment, the disease had already developed to the middle and late stages when they were diagnosed, and many of them had already affected the heart and large blood vessels. So some people think that since the disease has developed to the middle and late stages, it is the same to treat or not treat it. In fact, it is not. Statistics show that if patients with advanced small cell lung cancer do not receive treatment, they can only survive for 3 to 4 months. After comprehensive treatment such as surgery, the quality of life of patients is significantly improved, and some patients can even survive for 3 to 5 years. It can be seen that the results of treatment and non-treatment are very different. Especially for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, if there is no distant lymph node metastasis and the lesions only invade nearby organs (such as the heart, large blood vessels, esophagus, etc.), radical surgery of varying degrees can maximize the extension of life and improve the quality of life.