As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed, all things change. Certainly, the history of surgical treatment of patients with lung cancer is an example. There is both more and less. LESS For the consideration of “less” there is the consideration of the amount of lung the thoracic surgeon removes when operating Read More
Category: Lung Cancer
Few, if any, lung cancers are cured (gone forever) without surgery to remove them. On the other hand, not all patients are cured by their operation and many are not thought to be candidates for an operation. The goal of all treating physicians, medical oncologists as well as thoracic surgeons, Read More
In my previous blog I reviewed the concerns a surgeon has about the impact of a lung cancer operation—which costs a patient some of their breathing capacity—on a patient’s quality of life and how that determines the amount of lung that the surgeon can remove; quality of life after surgery Read More
I thought it was time to revisit the topic of operations for lung cancer. The surgeon has options which differ in the amount of lung being removed. The surgeon’s goal in all cases is to cure the cancer but they are constrained by the patient’s ability to tolerate, both immediately Read More
Although all cancers of solid organs have subtypes, they all are identified with a single identifying name based on the organ in which they originate. Colon cancer and pancreatic cancer, for example. Lung cancer is different: from the outset, based on the appearance of cells under the microscope, it is Read More
There are multiple considerations inside his or her head when a thoracic surgeon operates on a patient with lung cancer. I want to focus on two of them: how will the surgeon perform the operation and what part—how much—of the lung will the surgeon remove? A surgeon can gain access Read More
Lung cancer is a killer. It ends the life of more Americans than any other cancer. Frustratingly for those of us surgeons who do or have treated afflicted patients, the likelihood of developing lung cancer can be significantly diminished. Actively smoking or being exposed passively to the exhaled smoke from Read More
Seed or soil? When and why cancers spread (metastasize) are subjects of intense investigation. We know cells frequently escape from most cancers, including lung cancer, resulting in the dissemination of malignant cells into the blood stream on a regular basis. However, a cancer can be present for variable lengths of Read More
It has been said that the only excuse for smoking…is being on fire. I want to discuss and emphasize the carcinogenic (cancer causing) effects of cigarette smoke. Then we can review the role of thoracic surgery and thoracic surgeons in the care of patients with lung cancer, the subject of Read More
Be prepared. The lung cancer in most patients on whom we thoracic surgeons operate is situated entirely within a lobe of the lung and a lobectomy is a sufficient operation. Occasionally, as previously discussed, it is too large or is positioned such that an entire lung must be removed; a Read More
