Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small Cell Lung Cancer

• Introduction
• Finding Community
• Staging
• Treatment Planning
• Stopping Smoking
• Clinical Trials
• Supportive Care
• Survivorship
• For the Caregiver
• Case Management
• Assistance
• Survivorship Care Plan
• Back to Lung Cancer

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Small Cell Lung Cancer

Receiving a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) diagnosis may feel life-changing. It can be easy to feel lost in the complicated medical terms, new doctors and a changed vision of your future. But you are not alone. You will be surrounded by a multidisciplinary team of skilled health care professionals. They know it is difficult to process a SCLC diagnosis, and they are prepared to support and guide you so that you feel empowered to make the best treatment decisions for you.

You may have been diagnosed by your primary care physician or a local oncologist, but the first step to empowering yourself is knowing that you are the decision maker for your care. One of your first decisions will be to choose a treatment team. Look for these qualities: 

• Accredited hospitals, cancer centers and doctors with expertise in treating SCLC. 
• A doctor who is a good listener. Pick a doctor who will listen to your concerns so that you feel comfortable asking hard questions and making difficult decisions. You want to feel you can trust this person and that your interests are being considered. 
• A doctor and/or care team who are compassionate and able to explain complex medical language so you can understand it. Knowledge is power, and understanding the choices you are facing is critical to making treatment decisions.  

The lungs are a pair of large, spongy, expandable organs in your chest cavity that are surrounded by a thin layer of protective tissue (pleura). The right lung is a little larger with three parts (lobes), and the smaller left lung has two lobes (see Anatomy of the Lungs).

Your lungs expand and contract when you breathe, exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide. When you inhale, your lungs fill with oxygen-rich air, which is delivered to red blood cells that then deliver the oxygen to the rest of your body. When you exhale, the carbon dioxide that is brought back to the lungs by red blood cells is expelled into the air. Your diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle underneath your lungs, initiates this cycle of expansion and contraction.

Understanding Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is more complicated than many people realize. There are different types, and they fall into two main classifications: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC makes up the majority of lung cancer diagnoses and has several subtypes. Other less common types of cancer that may affect the lungs but are not considered lung cancer include mesothelioma and sarcoma of the lung. This guide focuses on SCLC.

SCLC is an uncommon form of lung cancer. It is named for its appearance under a microscope. Although it has traditionally been very challenging to treat, new drugs, treatment strategies and clinical trials are making great strides in how SCLC is treated and managed. The result is more options, and more hope, for people facing this aggressive lung cancer. 

Cancer develops when abnormal cells in the lining of the airways accumulate to form a tissue mass (primary tumor). SCLC often starts in the central airways (bronchi) in the center of the chest and frequently spreads to distant parts of the body before it is found. In advanced disease, lung cancer cells break away to form tumors (metastases) in the opposite lung and in distant sites such as the liver, brain or bones. Even though they are in other parts of the body, they are still considered lung cancer and are treated as such.