Roswell Park Cancer Institute provides comprehensive, individualized lung cancer care for over 400 inpatient admissions and 7,000 outpatient visits per year, including an influx of almost 600 new patients annually. There are over 13,000 cases of lung and bronchus cancer diagnosed on an annual basis for the State and almost 1,500 cases for the Western New York Region. Roswell Park offers video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Many VATS patients experience less pain, less scarring, and shorter hospital stays. Our multi-disciplinary team includes an elite group of thoracic surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, radiology specialists, pulmonologists, pathologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, nurses, case managers, and pastoral staff.

The most common type of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer. The information in this section has been collected from many previous patients and is a useful starting point for discussing your treatment options with your care team.

Please select a link to learn more about how lung cancer is treated at different stages of the disease.  You can also learn more through this Lung Cancer section or at www.LungSurgeon.com.

 

Early Stage

Late Stage

This graph shows the stages at which patients with lung cancer treated at Roswell Park are diagnosed compared to national statistics. Lung cancer is comprised of non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.  Lung cancer under age 50 is quite uncommon. The race and ethnicity of the women treated at Roswell Park reflects the general population of WNY. The majority are of Caucasian origin. Fifteen percent of women are of African American or Hispanic ethnicity.
Source: NCDB, Commission on Cancer, ACoS. Benchmark Reports, v8.0 - Aug. 2, 2007
 

 
Doctors look at three major items with regard to staging: how big the tumor has grown, how far the cancer has spread in the lymph nodes, and whether there is spread of the cancer to other organs in the body-metastasis. Knowing the stage helps doctors identify the best treatment. Often your physicians gather this information while seeking confirmation of the diagnosis. Unfortunately, the majority of patients with lung cancer seek medical attention by the time the disease has reached an advanced stage. Overall compared to the national average a slightly higher proportion of women come to RPCI with Stage III and Stage IV cancer. 
Source: NCDB, Commission on Cancer, ACoS. Benchmark Reports, v8.0 - Aug. 2, 2007