Lung Cancer Treatment at UPMC in Central Pa.

Your UPMC in Central Pa. lung cancer team will create a personalized treatment plan for you that will lead to the best outcome with the least impact on your body.

Surgery

UPMC in central Pa. lung surgeons are among the best in the area. They perform a large number of surgeries for lung cancer each year, using the least invasive and most effective techniques. Many surgeries employ the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System and use video-assisted thoracic surgery (minimally invasive) techniques for results and faster healing. Lung cancer may be treated with surgery alone or combined with other treatments. 

Surgery is used less often for small cell lung cancer because this type of cancer spreads more quickly through the body and is not often found in the early stages when it is confined to the lungs.

The most common types of surgery for lung cancer are:

• Lobectomy. Removal of the lobe of the lung with cancer
• Segmentectomy or segmental resection. Removal of a segment, or part, of the lobe where the cancer is located
• Wedge resection. Removal of the tumor and a pie- or wedge-shaped piece of the lung around the tumor
• Pneumonectomy. Removal of the entire lung
• Sleeve resection. Removal of part of the bronchus

In addition, lymph nodes in the chest will be removed and looked at under a microscope to find out if the lung cancer has spread beyond the mass. This will help doctors decide if you need further treatment after surgery.

Chemotherapy or radiation may be given:

• Before surgery to shrink tumors.
• After surgery to help destroy cancer cells that may remain in the body.

Chemotherapy

Our medical oncologists offer the most up-to-date and effective chemotherapy options for lung cancer. Chemotherapy is often the main treatment for small cell lung cancer or if the cancer has spread (metastasized). If surgery is not an option for you, your doctor may suggest clinical trials, chemotherapy and radiation.

Radiation Therapy

New radiation therapy techniques allow our radiologists to target lung cancer more precisely, delivering the maximum amount of radiation with the least damage to healthy cells. Radiation therapy may be used with chemotherapy and/or surgery. We offer:

• Brachytherapy
• 3D-conformal radiation therapy
• Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)
• Stereotactic radiosurgery

Learn more about radiation oncology treatment at UPMC in central Pa.

Contact

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Phone: 717-988-5864
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