New Study: Many U.S. Lung Cancer Patients Are Undergoing Unnecessary Treatment

Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. for both men and women, killing more than 150,000 people a year. According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer is responsible for 28% of all cancer deaths, surpassing the combined fatality rate of the next three most common cancers: colon, breast and prostate cancer.

The high threat of fatality has made aggressive treatment of all lung cancers standard practice in the United States. A new study that is being labeled “provocative,” by the American press, indicates that many lung cancer patients have endured painful surgery, chemotherapy and radiation needlessly. According to the Duke University Medical Center study, nearly 1 in 5 lung tumors detected by CT scans are too slow-growing to warrant treatment, much less the radical treatment that has become standard procedure among practitioners of Western medicine.

As Dr. Len Litchtenfeld of the National Cancer Institute explained to USA Today, the Duke study suggests that for every 10 lives saved by CT lung cancer screening, about 14 people will have been diagnosed with a lung cancer that does not require radical treatment. What that means is that 3 out of every 5 people diagnosed with lung cancer are likely to suffer through the pain, suffering, worry and expense of cancer surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments that may be unnecessary.

For patients with slow-growing lung cancers, the study suggests that refusing to undergo invasive treatments would not alter the patient’s health or life expectancy in any noticeable way. Integrated immunotherapy offers many lung cancer patients a welcome, non-toxic treatment option. Visit our website to find out more about our non-toxic cancer treatments.