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Lung Cancer Defined: Understanding Key Terms for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Lung Cancer Defined: Understanding Key Terms for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

A cancer diagnosis brings with it a lot of new medical terms. Understanding these terms can help you learn more about your small cell lung cancer (SCLC) diagnosis and treatment options, including clinical trials. Here is a list of some common terms you might hear:

1. Diagnosis & Monitoring Terms

These words are often used to describe terms you may hear when your doctor is diagnosing or monitoring your cancer:

  • Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small piece of tissue is removed and looked at in the lab.1
  • Staging: Staging is a way to describe information about the tumor such as its size and whether it has spread to other parts of the body.2

    In SCLC, staging often involves classifying the cancer as either limited stage or extensive stage. Limited stage means that the cancer is confined within a single area on one side of the chest and can be treated with a single radiation field. Extensive stage is disease which has spread widely through the lung and/or to the other lung, or to other parts of the body.3
  • Imaging Tests: These are tests such as CT (commuted tomography) scans, PET (positron emission tomography) scans, and MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) to help doctors see what is going on inside your body. These tests can help find cancer, see how far it has spread, and show if treatment is working.4
  • Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs): These are tests that show how well your lungs work.5

2. Treatment Terms

These are treatments you may hear about during your care:

  • Chemotherapy: The use of drugs to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing.6
  • Radiotherapy (Radiation Therapy): Using high-energy rays to target and kill cancer cells.6
  • Immunotherapy: Treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer.6
  • Targeted Therapy: Drugs or other substances designed to identify and attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.7
  • Palliative Care: Care that focuses on managing symptoms and improving quality of life. Palliative care can be provided at any stage.8

3. Clinical Trial Terms

You may come across some of these terms when researching clinical trials or talking to your doctor about them:

  • Clinical Trial: A research study that tests new treatments to see how well they work and if they're safe.9
  • Eligibility Criteria: The requirements for joining a clinical trial, such as age, type and stage of cancer, and overall health.10
  • Informed Consent: The process where doctors explain a clinical trial, including possible risks and benefits. This process helps patients decide, with the help of their doctor, if a particular clinical trial might be the right choice of treatment. The purpose is to make sure patients understand the clinical trial.10
  • Standard of Care: The usual treatment given for a certain type and stage of cancer.10
  • Protocol: The detailed plan that explains the purpose, objectives, assessments, and procedures of a clinical trial.10
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB): A group of scientists, doctors, clergy, and patient advocates that reviews and approves clinical trials to ensure they're ethical and the rights of participants are protected.10

Understanding these terms can help you make informed decisions about your care and feel more confident when discussing options with your healthcare team. Any time you come across medical terms you don’t understand, be sure to ask your doctor.

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