People often wonder how fast lung cancer grows. The first question that is always asked after detecting lung cancer is how fast it spreads to different body parts. However, the growth rate or doubling rate of lung cancer is not just the topic of mathematics. This is because these factors affect the decision of going for a particular treatment. Saifee Hospital believes in catering healthcare practices with care. It aims at taking care of human needs with all necessities. Saifee Hospital, Mumbai lets people have peaceful surgeries, operations, and diagnoses of other medical conditions. The hospital is dedicated to achieving a healthy life.
Understand the type of Cancer
It is very important to note that every individual is different and so is the case of cancer and its types. There might be cases like two different lungs may develop different stages of cancer at the same time. Similarly, it is important to note that every cancer grows at a different rate. Even if they grow at the same rate, you cannot fully depend on the growth rate for its cure. There is not always a single factor to consider for the care of lung cancer.
Timing is the most important factor that works for any type of cancer. If you are taking care of the date of diagnosis and the date of start of treatment then this data can help you somewhere in your treatment. You may lead to better outcomes. This is true especially when you have targeted therapy to treat yourself from lung cancer.
In the case of cancer, the growth rate is essential to understand. Cancer can become more personal with time. Moreover, the type of cancer contributes to how cancer would be treated in the future.
How fast is the growth of your cancer type?
There is a term called doubling time which helps to get an idea about proliferation. It is important to know about doubling time when you are affected by lung cancer. This may give you the estimated time on how fast, and how slow the cancer is growing. Moreover, there is no simple formula to understand the growth of cancer but these things can give an idea to understand.
A lung cancer becomes more serious after it gets mutated in genes. It starts controlling the cell growth. This means that after getting mutated your cell will not work like a normal cell. However, genetic changes take time but when it happens it adds a burden to cells as the cells start growing into billions and millions or at a faster rate. It can create the chances that lung cancer may get missed by a simple X-ray machine while the cells continue to grow at a faster rate without showing any sign of mishappening.
Growth rate and doubling time matter equally to know as far as knowing the stage of cancer is important. But, there is an expectation in real life. Different types of cancer have different growth rates. It measures the rate of cells that are active in maintaining the life cycle. There are certain examples of cancer like childhood leukemias, which grow at a higher fractional rate. The cells divide at larger numbers at a specific time. While there are other types of cancer like breast cancer where the cell growth is at a low fractional rate.
Lung Cancer Doubling Time
Your doctor may describe the term either in volume or metabolic doubling time. In simple words, it means the time it takes to get doubled. But here, there are certain limitations. There is a specific model to describe doubling time. This model assumes the continuous growth of cancer cells but this is not what always happens. Certain limits help to define the size of the tumor and then the spreading and then becoming cancerous. A tumor may get detected through a CT scan or imaging. Moreover, the doubling time of non-small cell lung cancer varies. It is based on several factors like the subtype of cancer and the smoking history of the patient.
What factors affect the growth rate of lung cancer?
Many factors may contribute to the growth of lung cancer. These are:
- Genetic Mutation
- Type and subtype of lung cancer
- Smoking history that has affected the condition of lungs
- Differences between men and women
- Techniques to be used for diagnosing the type of tumor
Doubling Time and the prediction
Doubling time can help you estimate the growth of a tumor. It may help you understand and predict the survival rate. There exists a close correlation between the predicted survival time and the doubling time. Moreover, the survival rate can be increased with the type of therapy used like immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
Survival Without Treatment
This can be a heart-wrenching question. But, it is essential to understand, especially when you are badly hit by a disease like lung cancer. Ask your doctor about the survival rate in case you are not taking any treatment. This will help you live peacefully at least for some time.
Time to Spread (Metastasis)
Another essential question is how long it takes to spread or what is the current stage of lung cancer and how many stages are still left. Does lung cancer take time to reach its extreme stage? What could be done in the meantime? Understand the conditions that provoke the metastases and the reasons behind them.
There is only one answer to all these questions. It all depends on the early detection and the stage of lung cancer. While there exist slight differences, these differences are important to know. It can be invasive or non-invasive at the same time.
Conclusion
Small cell lung cancer has a higher potential to spread at early stages. Every minute, tiny cells will spread immediately to the brain and other organs. This is the first sign of the disease. On the other hand, Squamous cell carcinomas may become quite large before they spread. The outlook depends on the type of lung cancer, overall health, age, and the mindset of the patient. Receiving a diagnosis can be stressful. It may leave you with questions. However, if you want a reliable and trustworthy place where you can get better treatment, you can consider looking for Saifee Hospital.
