Understanding Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

*Please note: This slide show is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your doctor about any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

How do healthy lungs function?

When you inhale, the lungs transfer oxygen from the air to your blood. They also take carbon dioxide from your blood and get rid of it when you exhale.

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is a disease caused by the unchecked growth and spread of some cells from the lungs.

What is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)?

NSCLC is one of two major types of lung cancer. The other one is small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

The most common subtypes of NSCLC are:

• Adenocarcinoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Large cell carcinoma

NSCLC is the most common lung cancer

NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer and affects about 8 of every 10 people with lung cancer.

What causes NSCLC?

There is no single cause of NSCLC. Like most other adult cancers, NSCLC is caused by a build-up of damage to cells.

Over many years, this damage changes some cells so that they can grow, multiply, and spread unchecked.

Will lung cancer spread?

Lung cancer can be dangerous even if it does not spread. It can grow into important structures in the chest, such as the airway. Or, more commonly, it can spread through the bloodstream to other organs in the body.

Will lung cancer spread?

A cancer that has spread to another site is called a metastasis.

What are the risk factors for NSCLC?

There are 2 types of risk factors for NSCLC:

Risk factors that you can change, and risk factors that you can't change.

Risk factors that you can change are:

• Smoking
• Being exposed to:
  • Second-hand smoke
  • Radon (like in a basement)
  • Asbestos (by working in mines, mills, textile plants, or with old insulation)
  • Uranium and other radioactive materials
  • Chemicals like arsenic, coal products, and diesel fumes
  • Arsenic in drinking water

What are the risk factors for NSCLC?

Risk factors that you can't change are:

• Air pollution
• Having had lung cancer
• Prior radiation therapy to the lungs
• Parents or siblings with lung cancer, especially if young when diagnosed

Symptoms related to non-small cell lung cancer can include:

The symptoms of NSCLC are not specific.

Possible symptoms are:

• A cough that doesn't go away or gets worse
• Coughing up blood
• Rust-colored spit
• Hoarse voice
• Unexpected weight loss and loss of appetite
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling tired or weak
• A lung infection (bronchitis or pneumonia) that won't go away
• Wheezing with no known cause (like asthma)

What are signs that NSCLC has spread?

Symptoms that NSCLC has spread to other organs are:

• Pain in the back or hips — if it’s in those bones
• Headaches, weak or numb arm or leg, dizziness, balance problems, and seizures — if it’s in the brain or spinal cord

Can lung cancer be prevented?

So far, researchers haven’t found any drugs, vitamins, herbal remedies, or alternative medicines that can help prevent lung cancer.

How can I reduce my risk of lung cancer?

The most important thing you can do to lower the risk of NSCLC is don’t smoke (such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes).

Other things you can do:

• Avoid second-hand smoke
• Avoid radon and other chemicals that can cause cancer
• Eat a healthy diet
• If you get your water from a well, test the water for arsenic

What factors increase survival?

Having a small cancer that hasn’t spread outside the lung increases survival.

What are my treatment options for NSCLC?

The 5 basic ways to treat people with NSCLC are:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Targeted therapy
• Immunotherapy

What determines my personal treatment for NSCLC?

Which options are best for you will depend on factors like your:

• Biomarker testing results
• Tumor type, size, location, and spread (stage)
• The results of your biopsy, blood tests, or both
• Symptoms
• Age and overall health
• Preferences

How do you decide on treatment for NSCLC?

When you meet with your doctor, be sure to ask lots of questions.

For example:

• What were the results of my biomarker testing?
• What stage is my cancer?
• What are my treatment options?
• What side effects can I expect?
• What can I do to prepare for treatment?
• What are the goals of this treatment?
• How likely is it to succeed?

How do you decide on treatment for NSCLC?

• Explain your worries and wishes
• Consider getting a second opinion
• Ask if there are any clinical trials you could join

Can my cancer be cured?

Ask your doctor if your cancer can be cured.

New treatments have helped people with NSCLC live longer than ever before.