Lung Cancer

Cancers We Treat

Lung cancer is the third most common form of cancer, with more than 230,000 cases each year in the United States. Smoking is one of the most common risk factors for lung cancer but anyone can develop the disease.

It is a cancer that forms within the lungs, usually the cells that line the air passages. There are two common types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer is more prevalent in older populations with the average age of diagnosis being around 70 years of age.

Thanks to recent advancements in early detection and treatment the outlook for those with lung cancer has significantly improved. At Evansville Cancer Center, we’re committed to working with you to create a personalized treatment plan, using the latest technology to ensure the best possible care. We’re here to support you every step of the way.

What to Expect with Lung Cancer

The two main types of lung cancer are small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Small cell lung cancer is more common to people who smoked for many years, while non-small cell cancer is a category that includes several different kinds of cancers. Since it is so fast growing, this responds well to radiation treatment.

Types of non-small cell lung cancers include:

• Adenocarcinoma – Starts in the epithelial cells of the lungs, adenocarcinoma is one of the most common kinds of NSCLC and is slightly more common in women than men
• Squamous cell carcinoma – Starts in the squamous cells that line the airways in the lung and often form in the central part of the lungs
• Large cell (undifferentiated) carcinoma – This fast-growing cancer can appear in any part of the lungs

To learn more about what to expect during your first visit and access other valuable resources, please visit our For Patients page.

Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

While smoking is a well-known risk factor, it’s important to remember that anyone can develop lung cancer, regardless of lifestyle. Understanding your risk factors for lung cancer can be helpful, but it’s important to remember that having risk factors doesn’t mean you will definitely get lung cancer. That said, some of the most common risk factors for lung cancer include the following:

• Smoking and secondhand smoke: The more years you smoke and the more cigarettes you smoke each day, the higher your risk. While quitting smoking lowers your risk, it remains higher than for someone who has never smoked. Breathing in smoke from others, known as secondhand smoke, also increases your risk of developing lung cancer.
• Family history of lung cancer: If a close family member, such as a parent, sibling, or child, has had lung cancer, your risk may be higher.
• Exposure to carcinogens in the workplace: Substances such as asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, and other chemicals can increase lung cancer risk.
• Exposure to radon gas: Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, can accumulate in homes and buildings. Long-term exposure to high radon levels can increase the risk of lung cancer, particularly in non-smokers.
• Radiation exposure: Previous radiation therapy to the chest, such as for breast cancer or Hodgkin lymphoma, can raise the risk of developing lung cancer later in life.
• Air pollution: Living in areas with high levels of air pollution, including diesel exhaust, slightly increases the risk of lung cancer.

Radiation Treatment for Lung Cancer

While treatment varies depending on the stage of lung caner, the type, and your own personal health history, it is common to receive radiation treatment for lung cancer. Radiation treatment is often used as a main treatment instead of surgery or for cancer that has spread to other areas of the body. Lung cancer radiation treatment is also used before or after surgery in order to shrink tumors to make them easier to operate on or to remove any remaining cancer cells after surgery.

For non-small cell lung cancer, the most common lung cancer radiation treatments include external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy. For small cell lung cancer radiation treatments may be used at the same time as chemotherapy, also called chemoradiation, or after chemotherapy is finished to help lower the chance of cancer spreading to other organs.

The term external beam radiation applies to all therapies that focus radiation from outside the body onto cancer cells inside the body. This includes image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) like RapidArc, or stereotactic radiosurgery like TrueBeam.

We often treat early lung cancer with Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), a type of radiation therapy that uses multiple beams of powerful energy to target tumors. SBRT also uses sophisticated image guidance to create a three-dimensional image of the tumor, which helps us better target cancer cells without causing issues for nearby healthy tissue.

Evansville Cancer Center is proud to offer a variety of cancer technologies, including:

• TrueBeam
• Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
• Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
• RapidArc
• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

Tumor Board

All of the diagnosis areas at Evansville Cancer Center work with a tumor board through Deaconess Cancer Services. A tumor board is part of a treatment planning process that results in a comprehensive, interdisciplinary treatment plan. A group of healthcare specialists will review your case to determine the best treatment options. This team may include:

• Pathologists
• Medical oncologists
• Radiation oncologists
• Surgical oncologists
• Genetic experts
• Nurses
• Social workers

There are many factors that go into treating cancer, and every patient is different. We want to make sure all of your needs are taken into account when putting together your treatment plan.

Our Cancer Care Technologies

We treat patients using proven technologies in radiation oncology, including TrueBeam®, Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), RapidArc®, Brachytherapy, and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Click below to learn about each of our cancer care technologies.