Katherine Menson, DO

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, but when identified early can be treated with surgical options that may be curative. Screening imaging is now performed in high-risk individuals, namely those who have a current or past significant smoking history. Those who smoke are at increased risk for poor exercise tolerance and post-operative complications after surgical resection, and therefore may have less access to curative treatments. In this study, higher risk individuals will be enrolled in a rehabilitation program with smoking cessation therapy between the time of lung cancer diagnosis and surgical resection, in hopes of improving their post-operative complications

Update:

We are recruiting 20 people with COPD who smoke and are scheduled for lung cancer resection. We will enroll them in a two-week prehab program consisting of accelerated pulmonary rehabilitation combined with medication and behavioral support for smoking cessation in order to measure the acceptability, feasibility and safety of the program. Additionally, we will measure the outcomes of prehab on fitness, respiratory and psychological symptoms, and smoking habits (readiness to quit, cigarettes per day, carbon monoxide levels). We will also assess the impact of this program on post-operative outcomes, including hospital length of stay and pulmonary complications.