Reasons Why Your Lung Cancer Is Inoperable

In some cases, non-small cell lung cancer is unresectable, meaning it can't be treated with surgery.

It could be because you have another medical condition that already makes it hard for you to breathe or makes surgery too dangerous.

The tumor could be in a place that makes it difficult to take out without harming the tissue around it.

It could be too close to important organs, like your heart. Or it might have grown into other important structures, like blood vessels.

Your doctor may not be able to operate because there's too much cancer inside your lungs, or because it is spread outside of your lungs.

Although the cancer may start as a single tumor, cells can break off.

If the cells travel through your blood or lymph fluid to other parts of your body and grow, more tumors can form.

Lung cancer usually spreads to your lymph nodes, liver, bones, brain, and adrenal glands.

If the cancer has spread and you have too many tumors, your doctor won't be able to operate.

If surgery isn't an option for you, there are other treatments that can help slow down, shrink, or get rid of the cancer and ease your side effects.