Stage 3A lung cancer, where the cancer has spread to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest as the cancer, can be something of a “gray zone” when it comes to treatment decisions, according to Dr. Joseph Friedberg, Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland. So doctors may disagree on how to approach this stage of the disease.
Dr. Friedberg says that in his opinion, it may be appropriate to give chemotherapy with or without radiation before surgery to people who are young and/or are otherwise healthy individuals. The goal is to shrink the tumor and kill all errant cancer cells before surgery and then to remove the now smaller tumor. Dr. Friedberg says a controversial approach for treating 3A lung cancer is the removal of an entire lung, which obviously has a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life.
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Dr. Joseph Friedberg serves as a medical advisor to SurvivorNet. He is the Charles Reid Edwards Professor of Surgery and head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Read More
Stage 3A lung cancer, where the cancer has spread to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest as the cancer, can be something of a “gray zone” when it comes to treatment decisions, according to Dr. Joseph Friedberg, Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland. So doctors may disagree on how to approach this stage of the disease.
Dr. Friedberg says that in his opinion, it may be appropriate to give chemotherapy with or without radiation before surgery to people who are young and/or are otherwise healthy individuals. The goal is to shrink the tumor and kill all errant cancer cells before surgery and then to remove the now smaller tumor. Dr. Friedberg says a controversial approach for treating 3A lung cancer is the removal of an entire lung, which obviously has a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life.
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