Small Cell Lung Cancer Stages

Small Cell Lung Cancer and its Stages

Small cell lung cancer is the most dangerous type of lung cancer. The growth of cancer cells is rapid and the metastasis of the abnormal cells is widespread. Cancer cells may proliferate from the lungs to the bone, brain, liver and many other organs.

Small cell lung carcinoma has 2 stages to determine the prognosis of the disease and the kind of treatment to be given. Stages of small cell lung cancer are the Limited Stage and the Extensive Stage.

In the Limited Stage of the small cell lung cancer, the spread or tumor is confined to chest specifically in the mediastinum and supraclavicular lymph nodes. The patient will have cough, sometimes accompanied with blood. There is shortness of breath, hoarseness of voice and lung infection that increases sputum production. To detect this stage, imaging test (CT scan, MRI, and chest X-ray), biopsy, blood tests and microscopy is done.

The extensive stage on the other hand is widely metastatic. The tumor and cancer cells have widely spread to other areas beyond the lung tissue. These areas may include the following: bone, brain, liver, stomach, etc. the symptoms that the patient experience is according to the area affected by the metastasis of the cancer cells. For metastasis to the brain, patient may have nausea, headache, and double vision. If the metastasis is on the stomach, the patient has less appetite making them lose weight fast. Pain in chest bone may be experienced if the metastasis is on the bones.

The diagnostic tests that the patient undergoes on the extensive stage are CT scan, MRI, PET scans of the mediastinum, tissue biopsy, endoscopy, Chest X-ray, Microscopy and blood tests. The extensive stage is the usual stage where small cell lung cancer is detected because of the widespread metastasis of the cancer cells.

The development of lung cancer may be hereditary or lifestyle-related in nature. Small cell lung cancer is highly contributed by excessive smoking especially the small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma. This makes men more prone to small cell lung cancer because statistics show that there are more men smoking than women. Secondhand smoke also contributes to lung cancer as well as exposure to Asbestos, Radium and Uranium.

Prevention of lung cancer is not always applicable to all individuals. The best prevention of lung cancer is to stop smoking or not smoking at all. Cancer screening also helps for early detection of lung cancer to prevent it from progressing to the extensive small cell lung cancer stage. Yet, many physicians conclude that cancer screening do not help in improving the chance of a patient's survival. The best prevention is still lifestyle modification such as not smoking, eating healthy and exercise.