Treatments to help you breathe when you have lung cancer

Metastatic (advanced) lung cancer can cause problems with your breathing. Some treatments may help clear cancer that has grown into the airways or lungs. This can help you breathe more easily.

Discussing the advantages and disadvantages of treatment with your doctor is important. This helps you make the right decision for you.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a way of killing cancer cells by freezing them. It is also called cryosurgery or cryoablation.

Cryotherapy can shrink a tumour that is blocking an airway. This can relieve breathlessness and other symptoms such as a cough, coughing up blood or a chest infection in the blocked part of the lung. 

Read about cryotherapy and the possible side effects

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a type of electrical energy.

You have RFA using one or more special needles called needle electrodes. The electrical current from the needle heats the cancer cells to high temperatures, which destroys them. The heat only travels a short distance, so it doesn’t generally affect the tissue around it.

Read about radiofrequency ablation and the possible side effects

Diathermy

Diathermy treatment uses an electrical current to destroy cancer cells. It is also called electrocautery or thermocautery.

You might have diathermy treatment if your cancer is blocking an airway and making it difficult for you to breathe. The treatment helps you to breathe more easily afterwards.

Read about diathermy for lung cancer

Laser therapy

Laser therapy uses a focused beam of light to destroy cancer cells. You might have this treatment if your lung cancer blocks an airway and makes you breathless. 

Read about laser therapy and the possible side effects

Microwave ablation

Microwave ablation uses high frequency microwave energy to kill cancer cells. It is a treatment for some large lung cancers. It can destroy a tumour that is blocking the airway. This helps you to breathe more easily.

Read about microwave ablation for lung cancer

Tube to keep the airway open (stent)

If your airway is partly blocked by a lung cancer it can make breathing hard. Your doctor might suggest that you have a tube called a stent put into the airway to keep it open. This can help you to breathe more easily.

Read about an airway stent for metastatic lung cancer