Because small cell lung cancer has typically spread by the time it's detected, it generally cannot be cured by surgery. Treatment usually begins with a combination of two or more drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Later, treatment with more drugs combined with radiation therapy or radiation alone, is often prescribed. But in many cases the cancer begins to grow again when it becomes resistant to treatment. The future and course of lung cancer research seems to vary tremendously depending on who you talk to.
Some experts believe prevention and early detection are the best bet.
Others insist that improved treatments and gene therapy will be the answer. Paul Bunn Jr., M.D., believes that more research needs to be conducted to see if it's feasible to use x-rays to screen cigarette smokers and people exposed to asbestos, who are at highest risk of developing the disease. Bunn, the director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and past chairman of FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee, believes that the increased use of tobacco among teenagers and adults must be curtailed and that one of the best weapons against lung cancer is prevention. As for lung cancer patient Ron Norgord, he's banking on a drug that's intended to cut off the blood supply to tumors using molecular technology. It's too early to see yet, but I see some positive things coming out of the treatment.