"Lung cancer is a disease with a tremendous stigma. Most people assume that the patient smoked, so there’s a sense of shame associated with this ’self-inflicted disease,’" said Robert B. Love, MD, professor of thoracic & cardiovascular surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch). "It’s a strange and outdated idea. Many new lung cancer cases are people who have never smoked."
This stigma, combined with a lack of awareness of new treatment options, makes many patients skeptical of the value of surgery. "Patients should understand that if surgery can be done, it should be done," Dr. Love said. "No other lung cancer therapy offers as much potential for relieving symptoms and aiding survival. Moreover, Loyola offers the full spectrum of surgical options, including the least invasive, which involves minimal incisions during a robotic assisted lobectomy (removal of the diseased portion of a lung’s lobe)." Since lung cancer typically does not cause any symptoms in its earliest stages, many patients receive the diagnosis when the disease has advanced or spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. In order to accurately define a lung cancer stage, a "proper cancer operation," which includes a lobectomy and the removal of all lymph nodes, is needed. Despite clinical evidence supporting the medical advantages of this treatment, proper cancer operations are often not performed at many hospitals, but are mandatory at dedicated thoracic oncology programs such as Loyola.
"Choosing where to get treated first is most important for cancer patients," said Dr. Love. "The assessment of lung cancer and possible treatment requires that appropriate surgery and oncologic therapy be applied from the beginning. At Loyola, we remove and analyze our lung cancer patients’ lymph nodes at the time of their lobectomy to know their cancer staging with certainty and to give patients the best complete therapy."
"However, if the lung cancer is advanced in the chest and cannot be immediately removed, there are still curative options to offer our patients," said Kathy Albain, MD, professor of medicine, hematology/oncology, Stritch. The thoracic oncology program provides multidisciplinary evaluations for all patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer or a suspicious mass on X-rays. Every Tuesday morning, Loyola’s team of thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and nurses meets to develop a treatment plan tailored to each patient’s needs. Some lung cancer patients benefit most from adding radiation and chemotherapy to the surgery, as this multi-tactic approach gives them the best chance to survive. "Or, if surgery cannot be done, we still have state-of-theart treatments to offer that prolong life and improve the quality of life," said Suneel Nagda, MD, assistant professor, radiation oncology, Stritch along with Dr. Albain, Dr. Love and Kevin Simspon, MD, FACP, FCCP, professor of medicine, pulmonary & critical care medicine, Stritch.
The combination of lung surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy is gaining interest among medical researchers. A landmark study published in the journal The Lancet in August 2009 found that surgery after standard chemotherapy and radiation can be a successful and safe option for select patients. According to Dr. Albain, the study’s lead author, "Results from our study highlighted the importance of thoracic surgeons, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists collaborating on evaluation and treatment - which all patients deserve."
Where to Learn More
Call (888) LUHS-888 and ask for the CAN-HELP cancer hotline for more information.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
