info Stage II
People who have stage II NSCLC and are healthy enough for surgery usually have the cancer removed by lobectomy or sleeve resection. Sometimes removing the whole lung (pneumonectomy) is needed.
Any lymph nodes likely to have cancer in them are also removed. The extent of lymph node involvement and whether or not cancer cells are found at the edges of the removed tissues are important factors when planning the next step of treatment.
In some cases, chemotherapy (often along with radiation) may be recommend before surgery to try to shrink the tumor to make the operation easier.
After surgery, chemotherapy (with or without radiation therapy) is usually given to try to destroy any cancer cells that might have been left behind. As with stage I cancers, newer lab tests now being studied may help doctors find out which patients need this adjuvant treatment and which are less likely to benefit from it.
If cancer cells are found at the edge of the tissue removed by surgery (meaning that some cancer may have been left behind), chemotherapy and radiation therapy are more likely to be used. Or your doctor may recommend a second, more extensive surgery, followed by chemotherapy.
If you have serious medical problems that would prevent you from having surgery, you may receive only radiation therapy as your main treatment.