Stage 2 Lung Cancer

Stage2 lung cancer comes with its own challenges and treatments.

Stage2 lung cancer is a term used to tell doctors and patients how far along a lung cancer is. If you have stage2 lung cancer, it means that the cancer has spread beyond the borders of the lung or that it has gotten very big. There are two kinds of stage2 lung cancer: stage2A and stage2B. We will talk about what they mean shortly.

Finding Your Cancer

When it comes to cancer stages, lung cancer can be located in one spot or it can be found in several spots in your body. Doctors use several tools to stage a cancer. They measure the size of the cancer using a chest X-ray or a test called a CT scan that makes 3D pictures of the cancer. Sometimes doctors use a similar test, called an MRI scan. They check to see if the cancer is in the brain, the liver or in other parts of the lung.

Other tests the doctor uses include a bone scan, which is a test that can tell if a cancer is inside the bone. A radionuclide scan is another test that uses radioactivity in the body to find areas of cancer that might be hiding in other organs of the body or in the opposite lung.

It is always best to keep an open relationship with family and friends, and keep in contact with a doctor that can help you through anything that you may have questions about.

Stages of the cancer help you and the doctor.

Lung cancer stages tell the doctor what to expect out of a lung cancer. For example, if the cancer is in the liver or in the brain, the cancer is called a stage 4 cancer, which is much more severe than a stage2 lung cancer. A person with a stage 4 cancer has a greater chance of dying from cancer than someone with a stage2 cancer. Staging also helps doctors know how to treat the lung cancer. Doctors can use chemotherapy and radiation as ways to help treat the cancer.

Lung cancer stages are based on the size of the cancer, the presence of lymph nodes involved with cancer and whether or not there is spread of the cancer beyond the walls of the lungs. Doctors use a system called the TNM system to stage a lung cancer. T stands for tumor size, N stands for lymph node involvement and M stands for "metastasis" or spread of the cancer.

stage2 is when the cancer begins to spread in the chest.

stage2A lung cancer means that the lymph nodes have cancer in them but that the cancer has not spread beyond the lymph nodes to other body tissues. In stage2B lung cancer, it means that the cancer is more than 3 centimeters in size, and lymph nodes have cancer in them or that the cancer is big enough to involve parts of the wall of the chest or the esophagus (food tube) or the heart. In stage2B lung cancer, there is no involvement of body organs outside of the chest and the lymph nodes do not have cancer in them.

When a person has stage2 lung cancer, doctors treat them with chemotherapy, medicines that get into the cancer and kill cancer tissue because cancer tissue is growing very rapidly. Chemotherapy works best on quickly growing body tissue. Doctors also use radiation, which is radioactivity that is pointed toward the larger cancer spots in order to shrink the cancer. Finally, doctors use nutrition to help a person get better from cancer.

If you have stage2 lung cancer, you should eat a lot of protein because that helps your body heal. You should also eat fruits and vegetables that have healthy chemicals in them that fight cancer cells. Eating healthy and staying active are two things that together help you fight cancer along with the treatment the doctor gives you. It is not a good idea to lose weight when you have stage2 cancer because you will not be as healthy.

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