Top Ten Treatment Centers for Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs. Tobacco use is responsible for almost 90 per cent of lung cancer cases. Other common causes include radon exposure at home, workplace chemicals (asbestos), environmental pollutants, and haemoptysis.

The most common symptom of lung cancer is consistent coughing and wheezing. Difficulty breathing, fatigue, and chest pain are other symptoms.

Small cell lung cancer generally occurs only in smokers. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy (brain and chest radiation) are used to treat small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer treatment centers prescribe therapies depending upon the stage and type of lung cancer. Lung cancer surgey treatment options include wedge resection, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy. Chemotherapy is given in the forms of adjuvant therapy and palliative therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. All these lung cancer treatment options are accompanied by side effects. Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI) and targeted therapies are offered by most lung cancer treatment centers. These are used for small cell lung cancer.

The top treatment centers for lung cancer are:

1. Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York, is a lung cancer treatment center. It offers video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). VATS allows the surgeon to operate with robotic assistance. The procedure includes inserting an illuminated tube through a small incision between the ribs into the lung.

2. The MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, offers photodynamic therapy along with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

3. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, also offer various lung cancer treatment options.

4. The University of Washington, Seattle, has a treatment center for lung cancer. It offers services from consultation to diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care.

5. The University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, lists patient care as its top priority. It offers a “cancer answer line,” a telephone service that assists patients and caregivers.

6. The UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, is another treatment center for lung cancer.

7. John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, is a well known treatment center for lung cancer.

Other reputed lung cancer treatment centers include Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, and the Duke University Medical Center, Durham.