There is a particular aspect of cancer treatment that can help a cancer patient at any stage of the cancer disease, this treatment is called palliative treatment or palliative care. This treatment involves giving support and encouragement to the cancer patient. This support could be physical, emotional, psychological, and social etc. Majority of cancer patients need such palliative care to relieve the symptoms and side effects of the disease. Patients often receive lung cancer treatment and at the same time receive treatments to ease side effects, this results to the absence or little side effects during the course of the treatment.
However, palliative treatment includes the use of certain medications, specific nutrition, relaxation techniques and others.
Below are some treatments that can be used to relieve the symptoms of lung cancer
- Radiation therapy can be used to remove cancer tumor in the chest that is blocking the lung passage.
- During a bronchoscopy, lung passages blocked by cancer tumor can be opened by getting rid of the cancer in order to improve breathing.
- A laser can be used to destroy cancer tumor that has been causing breathlessness when blocking the airways.
- Some medications can be used to treat pains that occurs from cancer. Most cancer centers have specialists who provide pain relief medications to cancer patients going through pains. Medications can also be used to stop coughing, free closed airways, and so on.
- Oxygen tanks can be used to improve the patient’s breathing by helping the lungs’ ability to extract enough oxygen from atmosphere.
- There are medications that can be used to strengthen bones, lessen pains in the bones, and help prevent bone metastases.
- Appetite stimulants and certain nutrition can also help to improve appetite and reduce weight loss in cancer patient.
- Certain drugs can be used to inflammation of the lung cause by lung cancer spread and radiation therapy treatments.