Non-small cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma?

What is the difference exactly - is one worse than the other and how/why? What would a stage IIIA or B or whatever mean? I know there are different stages but I thought they were just 1-5 or something like that.

This classification is a bit deceiving: small cell is a distinct entity, while non-small cell is actually a group of 3 or 4 different types of cancer. Small cell is by far the worst- it's the least responsive to therapy, and median survival after diagnosis is only a few months. They're different because the cells behave differently, and we really don't know why small cell is so aggressive.

The stage of a tumor is usually determined by the size and how far into the tissue it has invaded, whether it has spread to local lymph nodes, and whether it has metastasized (spread) to other more distant organs. The stages range from 1-4, with 4 being the worst (usually, stage 4 means there's a distant metastasis). A and B are just subdivisions within a stage. So 2A is better than 2B, which is better than 3A.

I had the same question two years ago as family member had lung cancer. Best to search it on the web. I found several places that explained in plain terms. Too much info to give short explanation. Good Luck! Start with "small cell"

http://www.personalinjuryfyi.com/mesothe... or www.LungCancerAlliance.org
this gives detailed information ...

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