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There are multiple different types of lung cancer surgery. Dr. Eric Vallières, thoracic surgeon, reviews the different forms of lung surgery, include wedge resection, segmentectomy, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy.
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Transcript
Surgery, specifically a lobectomy or possibly pneumonectomy, has been the longtime historical standard of care for fit patients with early-stage, operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
With the median age of patients now being diagnosed with lung cancer in the US a little over 70, the question of how best to manage elderly patients with lung cancer is a very relevant but also understudied question.
As the next installment of the podcast series from the GRACE NSCLC Patient Education Forum, I'm pleased to offer a presentation by the Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Division at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle -- my own institution. Dr. Aye has been at the center of the program from the beginning, and whatever success our center has achieved in the field is a reflection on his steady leadership. He was one of the leading reasons I felt I would be happy at Swedish, and nearly seven years later, I can say that he's been one of my favorite aspects of working there.
I'm very happy to present an audio interview with Dr. Eric Vallières, an excellent thoracic surgeon and Surgical Director of the Lung Cancer Program at Swedish Cancer Institute. Within the lung cancer community, he actually happens to be among the most well known thoracic surgeons in the country and even world, and he has a major expertise in the integration of chemotherapy and other systemic therapies for early stage lung cancer.
While the prevailing standard of care for resectable lung cancer is a lobectomy or pneumonectomy, we want the surgery to be as appropriate as possible for patients. That means not short-changing patients by doing a lesser surgery than they need to do as well as possible with the cancer, but also not overtreating patients with a more aggressive surgery than they need. There are two main variables that potentially alter the equation and may make a sublobar resection a more appropriate consideration.
Welcome to the new CancerGRACE.org! Explore our fresh look and improved features—take a quick tour to see what’s new.