Home  | About Us  | News & Events  | Contact Us  | Directions

Health Information Services Physicians Referring Physicians Hospitals and Clinics Academic Affiliates Patients & Visitors Faculty & Staff

Ellis Fischel Cancer Center 115 Business Loop 70 W. Columbia, MO 65203 (573) 882-2100 About Clinical Trials Directions Disease Sites Ellis Fischel Gala Ellis Magazine Email a Patient Email Us Employment Gift Shop Guest House Index A to Z Make a Gift Margaret Proctor Mulligan     Breast Health Center Phone Numbers Physician Information Support Groups Treatment Programs Submit Comments

Undiagnosed Lung Tumors & Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a common cause of cancer death because it is an aggressive tumor and because it does not cause many warning signs until it is large or has spread. Unlike other tumors that can be detected by the patient, this tumor occurs deep in the chest and cannot be felt by the patient or sensed easily because of the lack of nerves in the lung. This is why about 2/3 of patients have their tumor first detected at an advanced stage.

Each year there are promising new drugs and other methods devised to treat this disease, but presently the best way to cure lung cancer is to detect it early and remove it with an operation. For the many patients in whom it is not found early, we attempt to control the disease with other methods like radiation and chemotherapy. Surgery may be appropriate later to remove what is left.

We feel that a team approach is vital to deal with difficult tumors like lung cancer. This is because multiple treatments sometime work better that a single cancer therapy. Also lung cancer occurs mainly in smokers, many of whom already have significant lung or heart problems prior to the diagnosis of cancer. Therefore, the cancer specialists need to consider how much lung capacity can be safely eliminated along with the tumor. Our team considers detailed lung performance tests, carefully searches for signs of tumor spread, and finally recommends standard or new treatments that are being monitored in a clinical trial. For lung cancer we consider newer methods to be the best patient choice because many standard therapies (other than surgery for early disease) have had only limited success.

Like other cancers, doctors use the following steps to determine the best options for lung cancer patients:

For patients in whom the diagnosis of lung cancer is not certain, we usually recommend methods to establish diagnoses safely and expeditiously. Our team also carefully considers the risks of tests and treatments for every patient individually to minimize the chance of doing harm.

• Assessing the Risk that a Lump is Cancer
• Biopsy Methods
• Lymph Nodes, "N"
• Metastasis, "M"
• Minimally Invasive Lobectomy
• Minimally Invasive Lobectomy for High-risk/frail Patients
• Palliating the Lung Cancer
• Removing the Lung Cancer
• Sickness of the Patient
• Surgery for Lung Cancer & Undiagnosed Lung Masses
• Thorascopy Images
• Tumor Growth, "T"
• Types of Lung Cancer