A key reason this cancer is so deadly is a quarter of lung cancer patients are too sick, too old or too weak to survive surgery.
But that is changing.
It kills more people than any other cancer, and it takes more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. So how did these women go from hearing, "You have lung cancer," to, "You're cancer-free?"
"When you first hear, 'you have cancer,' you don't expect to get over it like I did," recalled Frances Nirich.
Nirich is one of about 55,000 people who are told they're too sick, too old or too weak for surgery to remove the tumor. She enrolled in a study to see if the cyber-knife can help those who can't go under a real knife.
"While you're radiating a tumor that moves, you can hit it with millimeter precision," said Dr. Brian Collins.
The device shoots radiation into the tumor without harming the rest of the lungs even as the patient breathes in and out. A five-year study found cyber-knife destroyed 95 percent of tumors. The three-year survival rate is 80 percent, a big difference from traditional radiation, which destroys 30 percent of tumors and carries a 30 percent survival rate. It destroyed all of Nirich's cancer.
Lung cancer patient Jennifer Hoppock didn't want to go through major surgery, either.
"We're now using smaller, keyhole incisions and telescopes with long instruments," said Dr. Michael Smith.
Instead of an eight-inch incision between the ribs, surgeons make a few inch-long incisions and use a camera and video screen to find the tumor.
"I went back to work after three weeks," Hoppock said.
Two lung cancer patients that became survivors, thanks to technology that's helping turn the grim statistics around.
As soon as you quit smoking, your risk starts to go down. After 15 years, it is almost the same as a non-smoker's risk.
http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/
SURVIVING THE DEADLIEST CANCER
LUNG CANCER: Lung cancer begins in the lungs, which are the two spongy organs in your chest responsible for breathing and releasing carbon dioxide from your body. Both men and women get lung cancer, and it is currently the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Symptoms of lung cancer usually don't show up in the cancer's earliest stages. Some symptoms include headache, bone pain, hoarseness, wheezing, chest pain, weight loss, shortness of breath, coughing up blood and a "smoker's cough." Smoking is still the major cause of lung cancer; however, lung cancer still does affect people who do not smoke and who are not exposed to secondhand smoke. Doctors believe exposure to radon gas, asbestos, having a family history of lung cancer, excessive alcohol use and other lung diseases may predispose a person to developing this cancer. (Source: Mayo Clinic)
TRADITIONAL TREATMENT METHODS: Traditional treatment options include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, targeted drug therapy, vaccine therapy, laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, cryosurgery, electrocautery and watchful waiting. In some cases, patients choose not to undergo any treatment for fear that the side effects will outweigh the benefits. Surgery options include wedge resection to remove a small section of the lung, segmental resection to remove a larger portion of the lung, lobectomy to remove the entire lobe of one lung and pneumonectomy to remove an entire lung. (Source: National Cancer Institute)
CYBERKNIFE: CyberKnife is a robotic, radiosurgery system, which offers a non-invasive alternative to surgery for cancerous and non-cancerous tumors. The CyberKnife treatment delivers a high-dose of radiation onto tumors with accuracy. The CyberKnife has unlimited reach and can treat a range of tumors and cancers throughout the body such as those of the prostate, lung, brain, liver, kidney, pancreas and spine. The CyberKnife involves no cutting and is the world's first robotic system designed to treat tumors throughout the body. The CyberKnife is an option for people who are considered "inoperable" or have surgically complex tumors. The CyberKnife system uses image guidance software that constantly adjusts to treat the patients' tumors while in motion. (Source: Cyberknife.com)
For More Information:
Cheryl SavageGeorgetown University Hospital
Washington, DC
(202) 444-4639
