Understanding Lung Cancer Recurrence

Sometimes, lung cancer comes back after you've had treatment. This is called a recurrence. If your cancer returns, it's most likely to happen within five years after you were diagnosed. The reason for this is that some small cancer cells may remain in your body and grow into cancer again.

Lung cancer may come back in your lungs, or it may show up somewhere else in your body. There are three types of recurrence:

• Local: The cancer is in your lungs.
• Regional: The cancer is in the lymph nodes near the lungs.
• Distant: The cancer is in another part of the body, such as the liver. Even though it's not in the lungs, it's still called lung cancer recurrence.

If the cancer returns to your lungs, you may have a cough that doesn't go away, blood in cough, chest pain, or shortness of breath. Other general signs of cancer include fatigue, unexplained weight loss, pain, and fever. 
While these symptoms don't always mean cancer has returned, it's important to let you doctor know about them right away.

The chances of cancer returning depend on what type of lung cancer you have and its stage. The kind of treatment you've had may also play a role. There are two types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is the most common, and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). If you have NSCLC, your chance of recurrence depends on what stage you have. Generally, the higher your stage, the greater chance it'll come back.

SCLC is the most aggressive type of lung cancer. Although it responds well to treatment at first, most people will have a recurrence in a year or two. When SCLC comes back, it tends to spread faster.

Your doctors may recommend a different treatment for your cancer recurrence than your previous treatments. They will decide based on factors such as: where the cancer came back, treatments you've already gotten, any genetic changes to the cancer, and your overall health. Treatments may include one or more of the following: chemotherapy, surgery, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation. In some cases, a tumor can block an airway, which can lead to breathing problems. You may need laser therapy or a stent to help open the airways.