Treatments

Lung Nodule Treatments

Treatment for lung nodules may range from a “watchful waiting” approach for benign nodules, to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy for malignant nodules.

If the nodule is benign, your physician will monitor the nodule periodically with CT scans, to determine if any changes in size or shape have occurred.

If the nodule is malignant, your physician will perform more tests to determine if it has spread anywhere else in the body. If it is only in the lung, surgical removal is the usual treatment. This is why early detection is so useful in treating malignancies. If caught early enough, before they have spread, your prognosis is better and treatment is less rigorous.

If the nodules have metastasized (spread to other parts of the body), then a more aggressive course of treatment is necessary, typically including radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combination of the two.