The overall health of the patient must be evaluated before the physician can offer certain treatment. Perhaps the best predictor of complications is the activity level or “performance status” of the patient. Patients who spend more than half the day in bed or a chair do poorly with almost any type of therapy.

Our team strives to maintain the patient’s overall quality of life when determining their treatment. If the physician feels that a certain type of treatment(s) would cause the patient to become sicker, with greater harm than benefit, treatment may not be recommended. This is because the treatment would make the person sicker than if none had been given. Ultimately this would affect the patient’s quality of life and possibly shorten their lifespan.

The lung and the heart are the major life supporting organs in the body. Together they deliver vital oxygen to all body tissues. If it is necessary to remove part of the lung, the surgeon must make sure that the heart and remaining lung can support the patient without making the patient sicker.

The patient will undergo a pulmonary function test (PFT) before surgery and usually before radiation. This test is used to assess how well the patient’s lungs work; it also predicts complications and patient risk. Sometimes additional tests are used if basic lung function tests are not very good.

We also evaluate heart and other body systems to be sure that the patient can withstand treatments other than surgery, including radiation and chemotherapy.