Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Your Important Facts Explained (article) - Cancer, Explained, Facts, Mesothelioma Cancer 24, In the article you read this time with the title Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Your Important Facts Explained (article), we has prepared this article well for you to read and retrieve information in it. hopefully the contents of this article post we write this you can understand. okay, happy reading.

Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Your Important Facts Explained (article)

What is Stage 3 Lung Cancer?

When a person has stage 3 lung cancer, they have a non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an advanced stage. There are two steps to this stage, 3A and 3B. The differences between them are important for the patient's prognosis.

What it Means

A stage 3A case has progressed and may have metastasized to other regions of the chest area. Distant metastasis has not occurred in 3A but is infecting the lymph nodes. Because cancer cells use the blood vessels and lymphatic systems to spread, this is a significant development. Stage 3B is advanced, with distant metastasis and lymph node involvement.

Tumor size and the extent the cancer has spread throughout the body affect how the disease is classified. Stage 3 can also involve all sizes of tumors which involve the lymphatic system but are local to the primary cancer. According to Dr. Lynn Eldridge, approximately 30% of NSCLC cases are diagnosed in stage 3A or 3B.

The same author notes that a diagnosis of 3B is often incurable. At stage 3B, the lymphatic system has been infected locally and in the distant lymph nodes. There may be metastasis or tumor growth invading the heart, causing fluid build-up in the pleural space between lung lining (pleural effusion), or obstructing the respiratory system. Further details of the cancer are communicated by the TNM system.

TNM

Tumor size, lymph node involvement, and metastasis are the factors addressed in this system. A stage will show how advanced the disease is, and TNM will describe its attributes. T1 represents a size of 3 centimeters or smaller. T2 is 3 cm or larger. T3 indicates any size growth, but one which is spread locally. T4 is a tumor which may be obstructing the heart, airways or invading the pleural space of the chest cavity.

N0 means the lymphatic system has not been invaded by cancerous cells. N1 is affecting nodes locally, usually the same side of the body as the primary cancer. N2 is distal lymphatic involvement on the same side of the body. N3 represents infected lymph nodes on either side and up to the neck area. M is either M0 (no metastasis) or M1 (cells have metastasized.)

Learn about the symptoms of NSCLC and see your doctor immediately if you have any concerns.

I for one know there's a ton of lung cancer information scattered all around the web, and I know it can be somewhat depressing to go through much of it. I have compiled all that researched so it might benefit others. I put many months of research into a useful guide. There's no charge of course and I think you'll appreciate the simplicity of it. Its at MyLungCancerGuide.com. While you are there, you'll find this article about Stage 3 Lung Cancer and many other very straight forward, helpful articles.expert=Paula_Anfuso

Title : Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Your Important Facts Explained (article)
link : Stage 3 Lung Cancer - Your Important Facts Explained (article)