Lung Disease: Treatments

Each type of lung and breathing disorder has its own way of combating it, as the severity and root cause varies accordingly.

Asthma
The usual treatment for asthma is rescue and controller inhalers: devices that deliver asthma medicine into a spray directly into the lungs, usually used at the point of attack. A variety of medications are used to manage asthma, including quick-relief medications such as bronchodilators which relieve immediate symptoms, and long-term control drugs such as corticosteroids to help reduce airway inflammation and moderate it.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
It usually involves two conditions; chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is recognized that the most common cause of COPD is smoking, besides breathing in pollutants, dust or chemicals. There is no notable cure for COPD, but it can be treated with oxygen therapy and medications, even surgery in some cases. However, quitting smoking is the best way to improve COPD symptoms and slow its progression.

Lung Cancer
Treatment for lung cancer depends on the type, stage and location of the cancer:

• Surgery is part of the early-stage lung cancer treatment, where the size and location of the tumour in the lung is located and removed and this is done with a long incision in the side of the chest known as a thoracotomy
• Radiation therapy is the use of high energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours where special shields are used to protect the tissue surrounding the treatment area and are usually fast and painless
• Chemotherapy goes throughout the whole body in search for tumour cells, working by interfering with the cancer cells’ ability to grow or reproduce
• Targeted therapy is similar to chemotherapy where it searches the whole body for tumour cells, but so far it has been useful for detecting non-small cell lung cancers

Learn more about how you can reduce your risks and prevent further health problems. Regency’s Heart & Lung Centre is well equipped with specialists and healthcare professionals to help diagnose and treat your condition.