What happens if lung cancer goes to the brain

Most side effects get better after treatment ends. Some might last longer. Talk to your cancer care team about what you can expect. Chemo — the short word for chemotherapy — is the use of drugs to fight cancer. The drugs may be given into a vein or taken as pills. These drugs go into the blood and spread through the body. Chemo is often given to treat for non-small cell lung cancer. Chemo is given in cycles or rounds.

Each round of treatment is followed by a break. This gives the body time to recover. Most of the time, 2 or more chemo drugs are given. Treatment often lasts for many months. Chemo can make you feel very tired, sick to your stomach, and cause your hair to fall out.

But these problems go away after treatment ends. There are ways to treat most chemo side effects. If you have side effects, be sure to talk to your cancer care team so they can help. Targeted therapy drugs may be used for lung cancers that have certain abnormal proteins. These drugs affect mainly cancer cells and not normal cells in the body. They may cause different side effects than chemo. Immunotherapy is treatment that either boosts your own immune system or uses man-made versions of parts of the immune system that attack the lung cancer cells.

Many types of immunotherapy are used to treat lung cancer. These drugs may be given into a vein. Immunotherapy can cause many different side effects depending on which drug is used. These drugs may make you feel tired, sick to your stomach, or cause a rash. Most of these problems go away after treatment ends. There are ways to treat most of the side effects caused by immunotherapy. If you have side effects, talk to your cancer care team so they can help.

The goal of treatment depends on the individual. A doctor will help them make a decision based on their overall health, their symptoms, and how far the cancer has spread. Sometimes, treatment aims to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life rather than curing cancer. Doctors have three primary treatment options for lung cancer with brain mets: drugs, surgery, and radiation therapy.

These medications may include pain relievers to help with headaches, drugs to control epilepsy , or medicines to help with edema or swelling of the tissues. A doctor may also prescribe chemotherapeutic drugs to attack and kill the cancer cells. Advances in surgery tools and techniques have made it possible for surgeons to remove brain mets relatively safely with minimal consequences to brain function and little to no risk of death. However, surgery typically only takes place if the surgeon feels that it is the best treatment option for an individual.

In some cases, it may not be safe to operate on a person with brain mets. Radiation therapy can target either the whole brain or smaller, more focused areas. The radiologist will use a precise, focused beam of radiation to treat brain mets with a small diameter.

This concentrated beam protects the surrounding brain tissue from damage, limiting the side effects of the treatment. In comparison with general radiation therapy, this process has fewer risks and results in a shorter hospital stay. Treating brain mets without controlling the primary cancer can lead to worse health outcomes.

Immunotherapy is a newer form of treatment suitable for some people with brain mets. It teaches the body which cells to fight and boosts the immune cells, giving the body the tools it needs to fight the cancer. Although it is a newer treatment option for lung cancer with brain mets, some clinical trials and studies have shown promising results. One study showed that people who received radiation therapy and immunotherapy had a higher survival rate than those who received radiation therapy alone.

Brain mets are generally a sign of a less promising outlook because they lead to other health effects, such as neurological deterioration. It is common for cancer to recur within the body or brain, so follow-up appointments with imaging studies are crucial. Natural history and factors associated with overall survival in stage IV ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer.

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Radiation therapy side effects. Updated December 10, The Brain Metastases Symptom Checklist as a novel tool for symptom measurement in patients with brain metastases undergoing whole-brain radiotherapy.

Thorac Cancer. University of Pennsylvania OncoLink. Radiation therapy: Which type is right for me? Updated March 15, Lung cancer survival rates. Updated January 29, Moffitt Cancer Center. How fast can lung cancer spread? Current Oncology. Cohen J, Kluger H. Systematic immunotherapy for the treatment of brain metastases.

The impact of different stereotactic radiation therapy regimens for brain metastases on local control and toxicity. Adv Radiat Oncol. Zhu Z, Chai Y. Crizotinib resistance overcome by ceritinib in an ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer patient with brain metastases: A case report.

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I Accept Show Purposes. Brain Metastases vs. If you feel low or depressed, speak to your doctor or lung cancer nurse. They may refer you to other healthcare professionals who might be able to support you, such as a counsellor.

For example, you may continue to have muscle weakness, fits or seizures, problems walking, or difficulties with speaking or swallowing. There are services available that can give you extra support to help you overcome or adapt to some of these problems:. Because of this, any driver diagnosed with brain metastases must STOP driving to minimise any risks to themselves or others. Many people who hear this news tell us that it has been a very difficult thing to come to terms with as it can significantly change their independence and what they can do.

You can do this by using Form B1, available here. They will also tell you if and when you may reapply for your licence. If you have a lorry, bus or coach licence, use Form B1V.