The leading cause of cancer death in the United States is lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, there are as many as 170,000 new cases every year, and lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostrate, and colon cancer combined. Nodules in the lung are small, brownish, round spots and are fairly common. Most are benign, but a few might represent the early stages of lung cancer.
Symptoms
There are few symptoms of lung nodules. Often they're spotted on an X-ray as an incidental finding, or something not related to the reason for the X-ray. If they are malignant or cancerous, they will expand and grow over time and may start to cause symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy consists of high-energy X-ray beams aimed at the nodule. The goal is to shrink the tumor and alleviate the symptoms. Effectiveness relates to the type of delivery and the other treatments performed in conjunction with the radiation.
Side Effects
Side effects of radiation include the tendency to tire easily, loss of hair on the chest, loss of appetite, skin irritation and inflammation in the lungs.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
With the external beam technique, a beam of X-rays is directed at the tumor but must go through skin and muscle to get to it. This treatment takes place over approximately six weeks, with good results and fewer side effects than with other methods, according to Radiology Info.org.
Conformal Radiation Therapy
Conformal radiation uses a 3-D image of the nodule, taken by CT scan, as a target. The radiation beam then conforms to the shape of the tumor, blankets it, and shrinks it. This type of radiation causes fewer problems for healthy lung tissue than external beam radiation. It is most effective on patients whose cancer is not advanced.
Brachytherapy
In brachytherapy, a radioactive seed or seeds, planted with a thin tube, are placed directly at the site of the nodule. This may relieve symptoms but does not cure the cancer. According to RadiologyInfo.org, brachytherapy is the least effective form of radiation therapy.
Tags: lung cancer, cancer According, external beam, Radiation Therapy
