Stage Four Lung Cancer

Written by Michael Kerry

The most advanced lung cancer is called a stage 4 - non small cell lung cancer; it is still treatable but cannot be cured.

Staging lung cancer is simply a way to measure how far the disease has progressed in the body. Statistics tell us that something like 40% of all lung cancers are already in stage 4 when they are diagnosed. That tells us just how hard lung cancer is to recognize. Like other stages and types of lung cancer, the symptoms can hide the disease. This happens because those symptoms could be for anything. Allergy or flu symptoms are the same symptoms for lung cancer. This makes diagnosing the disease very difficult.

Why Does The Stage Matter?

The stage of the disease will affect what type of therapy a patient receives as treatments are targeted toward specific stages. The stage the disease is in will also define the prognosis of the patient; more advanced cancers generally have worse prospects for successful treatment than the earlier-stage cancers.

In many cases, doctors will use specific tests to diagnose the stage of lung cancer in a patient. These could include blood chemistry tests, CT scans, X-rays, MRI and bone scans, and PET scans. The laboratory blood work may indicate if the cancer has spread to the liver or bone, while the scans and x-rays are used to determine size of the cancer and to see if it has spread.

What is Stage 4?

A stage four cancer can be any size cancer tumor that has spread, or metastasized, either to other parts of the body or to other areas of the lungs. So the spreading of the cancer is what makes it a stage 4.

Symptoms

The stage 4 symptoms are generally fatigue, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Again, these are the same symptoms for the flu, or many other, less severe illnesses. The symptoms that may specifically signify a tumor in the lungs can be shortness of breath, hoarseness, a bad cough that hangs on and won’t go away, coughing up blood, pain in the chest, back or arms, wheezing and repeated episodes of bronchitis or pneumonia.

When you review all or any of the symptoms above you soon realize why lung cancer is so hard to recognize, both by the person that has it and by doctors, nurses and other health care specialists. The very general symptoms could be just about anything.

Metastasized Cancer Symptoms

There are additional symptoms that appear when the tumor has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body. Unfortunately, these symptoms are still not specific to cancer, and might not be diagnosed right away.

Metastasized Cancer symptoms vary dependent on what part of the body the cancer has spread to. The symptoms can include headaches, blurred vision, seizures, or general weakness if the cancer has gone to the brain. If the cancer has spread to the bones there will be pain in the back, hips or ribs.

If the cancer spreads to the esophagus it may be diagnosed more quickly as the symptoms include difficulty swallowing, and probable hoarseness.

Treatment

Cancer is an ugly, horrid disease and stage 4 lung disease is a prime example of the extreme affect it can have on your body. Treatment options include chemotherapy and radiation treatments. With these treatments life can be prolonged for about eight months after diagnosis. At this advanced stage of the disease, surgery is usually not an option. There are often new, experimental treatments that will be offered and clinical trials that patients can have some success with. It is important to explore these options carefully with the assistance of your doctor or cancer center.

Lung Cancer Causes

There are many things that can cause this type of cancer. Things like smoking cigars, pipes, cigarettes, or marijuana. If you don’t smoke them directly, the second hand smoke from any of these can also cause cancer. Asbestos fibers and radon are the second most common cause of lung cancer. There is also a genetic link, a family predisposition to the disease. So if you have any of the common symptoms, make sure your doctor know if you have a close relative that had cancer.

Future Research and Diagnosis

As time progresses they are finding new causes for lung cancer. For instance, researchers are now exploring the possibility of previous infections being the cause of some cancers.

There are experimental treatments known as immunotherapies being developed and studied, including the use of vaccines to stimulate the body’s immune system in order to fight the cancer cells on its own.