Getting diagnosed with lung cancer is an extremely emotional and uncertain time.
It’s likely you’ll feel very overwhelmed as you begin to navigate a brand-new world, full of hospital appointments and tests and hearing medical words and phrases you have never heard before.
In this section, we will walk you through the whole journey, including
- what tests you may have
- the different types of lung cancer
- the four stages of lung cancer
- your lung cancer medical team
- how to cope with a diagnosis
Lung cancer tests
If the doctor suspects that you could have lung cancer, you may be sent for lots of different tests. This can include chest x-rays, blood tests and low dose CT scans.
When you are diagnosed with lung cancer, you will undergo a series of further tests. This will help your doctors understand what type of lung cancer you have and what stage it is.
Types of lung cancer
There are two main types of lung cancer. These are small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. There are then many different variations of the diseases, such as genetically-mutation lung cancers like EGFR+ and ALK+ lung cancer.
It is important to know the type of lung cancer you have so your doctor can recommend how best to treat your cancer.
Lung cancer stages
There are four different stages of lung cancer. Staging is a way of describing the size and any spread of cancer. It is an important factor in deciding on the best treatment for you.
Your doctors need to know the stage of your lung cancer to be able to recommend the best way to treat you.
Your lung cancer team
When you are diagnosed with lung cancer, you will be appointed a team of healthcare professionals who will be involved in your treatment and care. This is often called a multi-disciplinary team or MDT.
Your team will be determined by the type and stage of your lung cancer and the type of treatment you may receive.
Coping with a diagnosis
It is very distressing to be diagnosed with lung cancer. The news can impact you both physically and mentally.
There is no right or wrong way to cope with a lung cancer diagnosis. It is vital though that you have a good support system in place to help you adjust.
Help and support
When anyone is diagnosed with lung cancer, it is a very frightening and confusing time.
We are here to help you start to make sense of a diagnosis, understand what happens next and what your treatment options may be.