Surgery for NSCLC
When NSCLC lung cancer is found early, surgery is often an option. The surgical procedure used will depend on several factors.
Types of lung cancer surgeries: segmentectomy or wedge resection in which the tumor and some surrounding tissue is removed; lobectomy in which an entire lobe is removed, bilobectomy in which two lobes are removed and pneumonectomy, in which an entire lung is removed.
Procedures used for lung cancer surgery include thoracotomy and minimally invasive procedures such as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and robotic surgery.
Chemotherapy and/or radiation may be used before or after surgery, or both. This option is determined by the stage of NSCLC and other factors, including emerging tests such as Pervenio:
Pervenio™ Lung RS, a risk stratification test for early stage lung cancer (Life Technologies)
Learn more about surgical options for NSCLC
Surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (American Cancer Society)
Understanding your surgical options for lung cancer (Covidien)
Patient's guide to lung surgery (University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine)
Preparing for lung cancer surgery
Having surgery: What you need to know (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
Frequently asked questions about thoracic surgery (Lung Cancer Alliance)
Cancer surgery: what to expect (ASCO's Cancer.net)
Lung cancer surgery terms (Society of Thoracic Surgeon)
Finding a lung cancer surgeon
Find a center with a lung cancer program (Lung Cancer Alliance)
How to find a lung cancer surgeon (Lung Cancer Alliance)
Find a surgeon for VATS surgery (Covidien)
Find a surgeon for robotic surgery (Intuitive Surgical)
See also:
Side effects of lung cancer surgery
Nutrition and physical activity
