Key points from today’s guests:

Amy Hart-Doering, lung cancer survivor

• At age 55, although she didn’t qualify for a low-dose CT scan for lung cancer for insurance coverage, Amy decided to have the screening done anyway due to her past history of being a smoker in college.
• There was an abnormality detected in her lungs and further tests found it to be adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer commonly associated with smoking.
• Her tumor grew from 8 millimeters to almost 1 centimeter in about 60 days.
• She said it was challenging to break the news to her husband and children because she felt guilt and stigma associated with lung cancer and that it is caused by smoking habits.
• The type of robotic surgery she had allowed her to recover rather quickly.
• She credits her nurse navigator for helping her through the process and felt like everyone there was on her team.

Dr. Alykhan Nagji, thoracic surgeon; medical director, Lung Cancer Screening, The University of Kansas Health System

• Pack years are determined by how much someone has smoked. One pack daily for one year equals one pack-year. Half a pack daily for 20 years equals 10 pack-year.
• Low-dose CT eligibility guidelines include:
  • 50-80 years old
  • Current smoker or quit within the past 15 years
  • 20 pack-year smoking history
  • Those scans can detect nodules as small as 2-4 millimeters, but further tests are needed to determine the tumor’s nature.
  • We performed robotic thorascopic surgery, which involved making five small incisions and using the Da Vinci intuitive robot to remove the cancerous part of the lung.
  • When patients come to us with information they’ve found on the internet, it means they are trying to advocate for themselves. And we try to meet those patients where they are to develop a plan together.
  • If Amy had waited until symptoms appeared, it would have been a much more dire situation.
  • Don’t be afraid to look up information. Be an advocate for yourself. Ask questions. Seek out advice and talk to your doctor.

Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Meet a man who had to fly hundreds of miles to donate part of his liver. And learn how and why you can become a living liver donor without making the same journey.

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