Lung cancer may be the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths but, with early and proper treatment and care, it also is survivable.

“When it presents early, there is a potential 80-percent rate of five-year survival,” said Hans Haupt, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon who operates on lung cancer patients at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center (PMMC). “This is as close to a cure as we can say.”

Surgery, which usually involves the removal of a cancerous tumor as well as the lobe of the lung to which the tumor is attached, is quite successful when the cancerous cells have not moved into the lymph nodes, according to Dr. Haupt. The procedure lasts about two hours and requires a four- or five-day hospital stay. Surgery these days is much improved, with smaller incisions, fewer risks and faster recovery.

Surgery may sometimes be followed with chemotherapy or radiation or a combination of the two to prevent the cancer from recurring. Some patients may receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment prior to surgery to shrink their tumors before they are removed. A patient who is diagnosed with later stage lung cancer might receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment but not surgery.

A variety of tests and treatments often are involved, as are a variety of healthcare professionals including radiologists, oncologists, pulmonologists and surgeons – more of a team approach that brings improved results, according to Ronald Swaab, MD, a PMMC oncologist.

While the multidisciplinary approach is one area of progress in the fight against the disease, another is some of the tests and treatments themselves. One is the PET scan, which can help diagnose lung cancer. The test involves injecting a patient with a small dose of a radioactive sugar that cancer cells absorb. If the suspected cancer nodule lights up in a subsequent scan, it’s likely to be cancerous.

Additionally, new biological treatments are available to attack cells that form the blood vessels feeding cancers.

“We have targeted treatments – more precise treatments,” Dr. Swaab said.

Another improvement is in the general care of the patient, according to Dr. Haupt. Also, cancer treatment is more tolerable than it used to be, in part because of drugs available to cope with side effects, Dr. Swaab said.

There’s even improvement in lung cancer prevention. Smoking is “far and away the most common cause of lung cancer,” Dr. Swaab said. Pottstown Memorial Medical Center has a six-week program created by the American Lung Society that helps smokers quit the habit.