SCLC grows quickly and is usually diagnosed in the later stages when it has already spread. We’re here to help you feel informed and confident so you can talk with your healthcare team to design a treatment plan that’s right for you.
Talk with your doctor about which treatments may be right for you or your loved one.
When you or a loved one is diagnosed with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), it can be overwhelming. There is a lot of new information and decisions, but one thing that you may find helpful is to share your life and treatment goals with your healthcare team. They can work with you to design a treatment plan that’s right for your unique situation. Here are some treatment options your doctors might suggest, based on whether you have limited-stage or extensive-stage SCLC.
Surgery
For people with SCLC, surgery is rare, but it may be an option if the tumour is small and can be completely removed and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) indicate that it is feasible to remove all of part of a lung. If so, surgery would be used first, and will usually be followed by additional treatment, which is referred to as adjuvant therapy. Your healthcare team can help you understand how to prepare for surgery, and what kind of recovery time it may require.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be a treatment option for people with SCLC. It may be given as a pill or an injection into the bloodstream.
Chemotherapy disrupts the ability of cells (both cancer cells and healthy cells) to divide or grow.
A healthcare team determines the right type of chemotherapy, dose, treatment interval, and duration for each person.
Side effects of Chemotherapy
Very common side effects of chemotherapy can include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, anemia (low red blood cells), leukopenia (low white blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low platelets) loss of appetite, and hair loss. Chemotherapy can put patients at increased risk for infection and bleeding. Blood counts as well as renal and hepatic function tests should be taken regularly.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams of radiation to cause damage to the DNA of cancer cells to kill them or keep them from growing.
For people with limited-stage SCLC, radiation is often given at the same time as chemotherapy (chemoradiation).
For people with extensive-stage SCLC, in some cases, palliative radiation therapy is given with the goal of shrinking tumours to relieve symptoms like trouble with swallowing or breathing problems.
Preventative radiation to the brain may be done for people with limited-stage SCLC if the healthcare team decides it is necessary.
Chemoradiation
Chemoradiation may be used in certain SCLC patients with limited-stage disease including those who are medically inoperable or do not want surgery.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy may be used in association with chemotherapy as a treatment option for people with extensive-stage SCLC. It’s given as an injection into the bloodstream.
The immune system is a group of special cells and proteins that protect the body from infection or disease.
Immunotherapies help the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.
Very common side effects can include nausea, hair loss, decreased appetite, feeling tired or weak, constipation, vomiting, cough, diarrhea, stomach pain, skin rash or itchiness, fever, chills, swelling of the legs, upper respiratory/lung infection, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, nerve pain, back pain, urinary tract infection, hormone gland problems (particularly the thyroid, adrenals, pituitary and pancreas), elevated liver enzymes (this can be a sign of an inflamed liver), low neutrophils (a type of white cells) and insomnia. When combined with chemotherapy, the very common side effects include: bleeding, high blood pressure, anemia (low red blood cells) – this can cause shortness of breath and tiredness, low white cell count – which can increase the risk of infection, constipation, mouth sores or blisters, low levels of magnesium – which can cause weakness and muscle cramping as well as numbness and pain in the arms and legs.
Please contact your healthcare team immediately if you experience any side effects or symptoms.
Supportive Care
Supportive care, sometimes called palliative care, is provided by a team of doctors, nurses, social workers and others to relieve symptoms and side effects of the disease and its treatment and improve the quality of life for people who are diagnosed and their loved ones. Palliative care is sometimes confused with hospice care, and it’s important to realize the two are not the same. Supportive care or palliative care is recommended for any point along the cancer journey, and addresses physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs.
A palliative care team may be able to help provide relief from side effects, as well as comfort and support, so be sure to ask your team about this service.