What is SVC Syndrome?

Transcript

Small cell sometimes presents with something called SVC syndrome, or superior vena cava syndrome. And basically that is a big vein that goes into the right side of your heart. And small cell lung cancer, because sometimes it can be towards the top of your lung, it can grow to where it’s actually blocking that.

That can present with swelling in the right arm, swelling in the right side of the neck, even some shortness of breath. And that is usually an emergency. So we want to bring that size of that small cell cancer down as fast as possible. And the quickest way to do that is chemo plus minus radiation.

Key Takeaways

1. Small cell sometimes presents with SVC syndrome (superior vena cava syndrome) which is a big vein that goes into the right side of your heart.

2. That can present with swelling in the right arm, swelling in the right side of the neck, even some shortness of breath. It is usually an emergency, so we want to bring that size of that small cell cancer down as fast as possible.

3. The quickest way to do that is chemo with or without radiation.