Prognosis of squamous cell lung cancer

Squamous cell lung cancer is one of a group of lung cancers called non small cell lung cancers. The treatment for these if they are caught early enough is surgery to remove them. But unfortunately, yes there is a risk of the cancer coming back.

Cancer starts when a cell, or group of cells, go wrong and begin to grow in an uncontrolled way. Any of these cells can break away from the growing lump and travel through the blood or lymphatic system to another part of the body. So, although the primary cancer has been removed, any escaped cancer cells could start growing somewhere else. The most common areas for lung cancer to spread to are

•  lymph nodes within the chest, or in the abdomen, neck, or armpit
•  liver
•  bones
•  brain

Cells can also be left behind in the area of the lung after surgery. Surgeons try to make sure this does not happen by taking away a border (margin) of healthy tissue around the cancer. This reduces the risk of any cells being left behind. But your doctor may suggest chemotherapy to help lower the risk of the cancer coming back after surgery.

You can ask your doctor about the stage of your cancer. The earlier the stage (the smaller the cancer and the more localised it was), the smaller the risk of it coming back. You can find detailed information about the outlook for the different stages of non small cell lung cancer on our outlook and statistics for lung cancer page. But it is important to remember that statistics can only give you a general picture. They cannot tell you exactly what will happen to you.

A diagnosis of cancer can mean that you feel you have an uncertain future. This can be very difficult to cope with. You can look at our page of lung cancer organisations to find people who can help to support you. And the coping with cancer section gives information about counselling.

You can find more information about lung cancer treatment in the lung cancer section of CancerHelp UK.