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Treatments

  • Wedge Resection

    This surgical procedure removes only the tumor and a clear margin of normal lung tissue around it. It's often used during the diagnosis stage to help us study your cancer’s cells and to determine how aggressive the cancer is. Often, it's reserved for patients with poor lung function who can't tolerate a lobectomy.

  • Lobectomy

    Lobectomy is surgery to remove a lobe of a lung affected by cancer. The right lung has three lobes (upper, middle and lower), and the left lung has two lobes (upper and lower).

  • Segmentectomy

    This surgery removes one segment or a few segments of a lung within the same lobe. For some smaller cancers, a segmentectomy can offer similar results as a lobectomy.

  • Sleeve Resection

    Sleeve resection surgery removes cancer in the main bronchus (air tube) and reconnects the ends to maintain healthy parts of the lung. This procedure helps save more lung tissue and preserve normal function.

  • Pneumonectomy

    This surgery removes a whole lung. Surgeons use other treatment approaches whenever possible.

  • Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS)

    VATS offers a less-invasive procedure for treating small, early-stage lung cancer tumors. To do the procedure, your surgeon inserts tiny video and surgical instruments through a few small incisions in your chest wall. This approach greatly reduces the risk of infection and can offer a faster recovery.

  • Robotic Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (RVATS)

    The robotic-assisted thoracic surgery program at UHealth/Sylvester ranks among the top 10 programs in the Southeast. This surgery shares similar advantages to VATS, with small incisions and a tiny camera to help guide the surgeon. For RVATS, your doctor still performs surgery, but robotic technology increases the magnification of the surgical area. Also, the instruments have better dexterity and range of motion than the human hand. RVATS offers less blood loss, a typically shorter hospital stay, and better outcomes.

  • Radiation Therapy

    The goal of radiation therapy is to eliminate or shrink a tumor, either alone or in combination with surgery or chemotherapy — or both. It can be delivered from outside the body (external radiation) or internally, with radiation "seeds" implanted directly into the tumor (brachytherapy). Radiation therapy is also used to control an incurable tumor and improve your comfort.

  • Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

    SBRT is a treatment approach for early-stage lung cancer for people who can't undergo surgery due to other medical risks. High-risk patients with early-stage lung cancer are evaluated by both thoracic surgeons and radiation oncologists before a decision is made to choose this therapy over surgery.

  • Chemotherapy

    Chemotherapy is cancer-fighting medicine given as a pill or intravenously (via a needle). It's usually part of the treatment for advanced non-small cell cancer. There are several medicines available to treat lung cancer. Doctors use a wide range of approaches, such as before or after surgery, in combination with radiation therapy (chemoradiation), or as a standalone treatment. Chemotherapy is usually part of the treatment for advanced non-small cell cancer.

  • Targeted Therapy

    Targeted therapy uses medicines or other substances to destroy specific cancer cells, with less damage to normal cells than radiation therapy or standard chemotherapy. Examples of targeted therapies include monoclonal antibodies or small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Doctors use several targeted therapies to treat some advanced non-small cell lung cancers, either alone or along with chemotherapy.

  • Immunotherapy

    This therapy boosts your immune system to fight cancer. It uses medicines that target certain inhibitors to stimulate your immune system to attack the lung cancer and restore an anti-tumor immune response. For advanced NSCLC, doctors use medicines called immune checkpoint inhibitors.

  • Clinical Trials

    In addition to standard therapies, clinical trials are available and may be recommended. Your oncologist will review your case with you and determine if a clinical trial treatment may be a good option for you.