Lung Cancer and its Prognosis
What is a prognosis? It is a medical term that predicts if a disease will worsen, reoccur, or improve as time goes on and how quickly this will happen. You will often hear medical professionals say, “a good prognosis” or “a poor prognosis.” This can also talk about expectations involving quality of life and daily activities.
When it comes to cancer and prognosis, this is about how the cancer responds to treatment. A prognosis with cancer is important because it helps a patient know what may happen down the line and how to manage, plan, and live with what will come. A cancer forecast can help a person get certain things in their life squared away or it can help them adapt to new lifestyle changes.
What helps a doctor come up with a prognosis with lung cancer?
- Stage of cancer
- Type of tumor
- Size of tumor
- The abnormality of the tumor’s cells
- A person’s age
- A person’s general health
- How a person responds to treatment
When it comes to lung cancer, a doctor may talk about a prognosis in terms of a five-year survival rate. For example, a prognosis is good if the five-year survival rate is good and the cancer is likely to respond to treatment. However, if it will be a difficult tumor to treat or control, the prognosis will be poor.
People who have small cell lung cancer generally have a poor outlook as it is an aggressive lung cancer with a two- to fourth-month survival rate after diagnosis if not treated. Response to treatment can be good but only about 5 to 10% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis. Non-small cell lung cancer does not have a good response to treatment unless it can be surgically removed. It is hard to treat this type of cancer in advance stages.
Book an Appointment with a Tampa Robotic Lung Surgeon
Your lung cancer prognosis will depend on many factors. If surgery is an option, it is one of your best bets to beat the cancer. Robotic lung surgery is minimally-invasive surgery with a shorter recovery time. Talk to a doctor today to see if you are a candidate for the surgery.
Dr. Peter Mikhail is a robotic lung specialist and surgeon who performs robotic lung surgery to treat certain types and stages of lung cancer. To learn more about robotic lung surgery, click Dr. Mikhail’s Tampa Robotic Lung Surgery page or call his office at 727-312-4844 to book an appointment or for more information. Dr. Mikhail has offices in Tampa and New Port Richey, Florida.
