There are three issues to be confirmed firstly in lung cancer treatment, which are typing, staging and classification of lung cancer. So whether you go to Japan to treat cancer or treat cancer in China, the treatment process is not much different.
In terms of the means of treatment, lung cancer treatment in Japan generally uses no more than 4 major methods: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapeutic drugs, and new types of drugs. So the treatment is similar to that in China.
But why is the cure rate of lung cancer in Japan so high? More advanced drug research and development is one aspect, and more detailed diagnosis and treatment is also one aspect. More importantly, it is because Japan pays more attention to medical checkups, through which early lung cancer can be detected, and intervention and treatment can be carried out before lung cancer worsens, so the cure rate is naturally high.
But the country itself does not pay much attention to medical checkups, and most of them are just a formality. The diseases that can be detected by medical checkups are actually in the middle to late stages.
Japan does have a lot to learn from us in terms of lung cancer screening. The following is from Sincerely yours, for reference.
The best means of lung cancer screening is CT, and ordinary X-ray examination is not ideal. While ordinary private medical check-up organizations often do not have CT check-up equipment, there is always a long queue for CT check-ups in tertiary hospitals.
Additionally, equipment alone is not enough, and at present many diseases still rely on human experience to judge. Like lung cancer screening, most diagnoses are made by observing medical images taken.
Doctors at the country's tertiary hospitals are of course excellent, but objective circumstances such as an overloaded caseload can often lead to misdiagnosis or even missed diagnoses.
Japan, on the other hand, first utilizes a hierarchical treatment system that allows for the effective distribution of medical resources, giving doctors ample time to fully observe and communicate with medical checkup users. The second is a more complete set of medical checkup programs.
For example, screening for lung cancer is not simply a matter of taking images, but also a matter of using other blood indicators*** for diagnosis. So what are the screening programs for lung cancer in Japan?
How is lung cancer screened in Japan?Lung function test:
The most basic indicator of lung function is lung capacity, which is used to judge the development of lungs and the elasticity of lung muscles through inhalation and exhalation, so as to make a preliminary judgment on the health of lungs.
Sputum cell test:
The sputum cell test is one of the most basic tests for lung cancer screening. Sputum is is the secretion produced by the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory airways such as the trachea and lungs, and if these organs are infected with bacteria, then the sputum will also contain bacteria.
Japanese medical checkups for sputum cells are usually done in advance by giving the user three sampling containers with sputum cell cultures to collect sputum on the day of the medical checkup, the day before the medical checkup, and the two days before the medical checkup. This is done to increase the number of samples of sputum cells and to ensure the accuracy of the results.
Advanced Tumor Markers:
Tumor markers are a blood indicator test. Current research has shown that cancer patients have hormones or special factors in their blood that are different from those of healthy people, and this test can be used as an aid in determining whether or not a medical examiner has cancer. For example, Pro-GRP is one of the tumor markers for lung cancer.
But it's important to note that this test is not sufficient to determine lung cancer. Simply put, the lung cancer marker must be abnormal in a lung cancer patient. But an abnormal lung cancer tumor marker test result may be due to certain inflammatory conditions or physiological activities.
Medical imaging: X-ray, chest CT
X-ray, which is also commonly known as chest X-ray, is usually taken from two angles in the physical examination for lung cancer screening in Japan. One is from the front and the other is from the side, and the condition of the lungs is judged by the combination of the images from the two angles.
When taking an X-ray, a Japanese nurse or doctor will teach the user how to pose, to ensure the clarity and accuracy of the image, and to make it easier for the Japanese doctor to determine the condition of the user's lungs.
But X-rays have a limitation, because our organs are stacked on top of each other, and the impact of the information obtained from the examination will show that many organs overlap, and some small lesions are difficult to detect through X-ray examination. If the X-ray can detect very obvious lesions, the lung cancer at this time is usually in the middle or late stage.
So what can be done about this problem? Don't be afraid. In Japan, a chest CT is included in the medical checkup to determine this. Chest CT is a test where the body is sliced into layers like a loaf of bread. Each layer of the lungs is viewed from a top-down perspective so that even relatively advanced lesions can be observed.
There is not much difference between Japanese and domestic instruments, but the CT scan in Japanese medical checkups is much more accurate, in other words, there are more slices, so that more tissues can be observed, and the possibility of detecting lung cancer is also higher.
The above are some of the tests for lung cancer screening in Japan, which basically cover from blood, body fluids, and various types of medical images. It is recommended that people who have a family history of cancer, or who have a long-term smoking habit, or who have been in an environment with poor air for a long time, should have their lung cancer screened once a year, or as the saying goes, early detection, early treatment.