Surgeons Play Crucial Role in Treating Lung Cancer, Saving Lives

Guest Blogger

November was National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is a devastating disease – approximately 180,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year, and more people die from lung cancer than from any other type of cancer. In fact, lung cancer kills more Americans annually than breast, prostate, colon, kidney and liver cancers combined.

Surgery is the most effective treatment – and often a cure – for many lung cancers in the early stages. And for advanced stages of lung cancer, surgery is often combined with radiation and/or chemotherapy. Sometimes surgery is also used to help determine exactly what type and stage of lung cancer a patient has.

In short, surgery is critical to identifying and treating many lung cancers. For this reason, as Congress continues to debate the details of healthcare reform, the Lung Cancer Alliance has joined with the American College of Surgeons and more than 25 other organizations as a partner in Operation Patient Access. We are committed to ensuring that lung cancer patients – and all patients – have continued access to the critical surgical care they need.

We are concerned by the fact that the number of surgeons in the United States continues to decrease. There are currently fewer than two practicing cardiothoracic surgeons – those surgeons who perform lung surgery – for every 100,000 Americans, and a large majority of those surgeons are concentrated in urban areas.

That ratio is expected to shrink even further, as more than half of the current cardiothoracic surgeon workforce is 55 years and older, and a large number are expected to retire over the next decade. In addition, during the past five years, fewer and fewer medical students have applied for training in this specialty, so that 20 to 30 percent of available training positions have not been filled. Between 2002 and 2007, thoracic surgery saw a drop of 24 percent in the number of first year trainees.

At the same time that the number of cardiothoracic surgeons is dropping, the need for their services is rising, as our nation’s population grows older and sicker. Researchers say that by 2025, there could be a 46 percent increase in the demand for cardiothoracic surgeons.

We must address this issue now so that patients in need of lung surgery – or any critical surgery – are not forced to wait for life-saving surgical care. Congress must make the surgeon shortage a priority so that we do not face major surgical access issues that could lead to serious health complications and death.

As the only non-profit organization dedicated solely to patient support and advocacy for people living with lung cancer and those at risk for the disease, the Lung Cancer Alliance recognizes that a key component of advocating for our patients is working to ensure that their access to quality surgical care is not compromised.

This Lung Cancer Awareness Month – in light of the ongoing healthcare reform debate – is an ideal time to recognize the crucial role surgeons play in identifying and treating lung cancer, and saving countless lives.

Healthcare reform efforts must address the growing surgical workforce shortage, so that patients have access to critical surgical care when they need it.

Laurie Fenton Ambrose
President & CEO
Lung Cancer Alliance