Navigating Lung Cancer Navigating Lung Cancer | Page 9

How Lung Cancer Affects the Body
Different types of lung cancer often behave differently in the body. Treatment is based
on the type of cancer and the stage of cancer. The stage is the extent of cancer. Is it
in one area of the lung, or has it spread? Staging lung cancer is critically important.
Treatments can vary depending on the stage.
Lung cancer’s projected outcome, the prognosis, is also impacted by the stage. Lower
stages, where the cancer is more localized, have a better outcome than advanced
stages.
Stage I
By understanding where the lung cancer is, and how and where it spreads, the
medical team can create a specialized treatment plan based on the type and stage.
The stages of NSCLC are:
Stage I: The cancer is in one part of one lung. It hasn’t spread.
Stage II: The cancer is in one lung and nearby lymph nodes within that lung,
called the hilar.
Stage III: The cancer is in one lung and the lymph nodes between the two lungs in
the middle of the chest.
Stage II
Stage IIIA: Describes lu ng cancer that has spread to lymph nodes on the same side
of the chest as the cancer. It could also be cancer that has directly invaded adjacent
structures like the chest wall, esophagus, or heart.
Stage IIIB: Means that the cancer has spread from the lungs to the lymph nodes
on the opposite side of the chest or above the collarbone.
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to the space around the lungs (the pleura), the
other lung, or to another part of the body, such as the brain, bones, liver or adrenal
glands. The term “metastasis” is used in Stage IV cancer. This is when the cancer has
spread beyond its original site in the lung to other, more distant parts of the body.
SCLC has two stages:
Stage III
Limited Stage: The cancer is found in just one part of a lung and nearby lymph nodes.
Extensive Stage: The cancer has spread to other parts of the chest or body.
It is likely that SCLC will soon have a four-stage system. This system better predicts
outcomes.
Stage IV
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