Ask an expert:How should I treat lung cancer after surgery?

  Surgery for lung cancer can only remove the lump that we can see with our naked eyes. Therefore, post-surgical treatment of lung cancer is very important because it only removes the local lesions, which cannot prolong the life of patients and sometimes has the opposite effect and leads to the recurrence of lung cancer patients.  Post-surgical lung cancer treatment: (1) Post-surgical chemotherapy: After the main body of tumor is surgically removed, the number of remaining microscopic lesions in the body is small, and cancer cells are mostly in the active growth stage at that time, which are sensitive to chemotherapy. For small cell lung cancer of all stages and non-small cell lung cancer of stage II or above. A sensitive combination treatment plan should be selected according to the tissue type and systemic chemotherapy should be started as early as possible. Generally, starting from 3-4 weeks after surgery, aiming at 1 course of treatment every 1-2 months and 4-6 courses of systemic chemotherapy within 6 months to 1 year, which is quite helpful to prevent metastasis and recurrence.  (2) Post-surgical radiotherapy: Like surgical treatment, it is a local treatment. The purpose of post-surgical radiation therapy is to use the radiation energy to destroy the residual estimated unresected tumor to prevent recurrence after surgery. If cancer cells are found in the bronchial stump in the surgical specimen, post-surgical radiation therapy is feasible. The irradiation site is usually the hilum and mediastinum. Each part of human body can usually only have one course of radiation therapy, so radiation therapy should be carried out on time to achieve the ideal curative effect, and it is generally required to end the treatment within 3 months after surgery.  (3) Biological therapy: Biological therapy after surgery is to restore adjustment through various biological modulators and enhance the body’s own immune function so as to achieve the purpose of controlling metastasis. Biological therapy is a kind of systemic therapy, which can theoretically kill all tumor cells within 106-108. Currently, the commonly used agents include alpha-interferon, interleukin-2, laccase, tumor necrosis factor, etc. Some biological therapies are not suitable to be performed simultaneously with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Rays and certain chemotherapeutic drugs can suppress the immune function of the body, and the efficacy of biological therapy is poor when the immune function of the body is low. It is suitable for patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer after surgery and stage II and III patients who have finished comprehensive treatment or stage IV patients with systemic chemotherapy.  (4) Traditional Chinese medicine treatment: like biological treatment, it may regulate immune function, reduce the reaction to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and improve patients’ quality of life.  Experts remind that the trauma of lung cancer surgery and the obvious toxic side effects of radiotherapy can cause most patients to have obvious symptoms of weakness and various symptoms caused by toxic side effects of radiotherapy. Therefore, the postoperative treatment of lung cancer has an important impact on the long-term treatment effect of patients. At this time, diet should also be used for the recovery of postoperative lung cancer treatment and the reduction of various symptoms and toxic side effects. According to the different symptoms and manifestations of patients, postoperative treatment of lung cancer can sometimes receive good results if the following methods are used for identification and meal preparation.