Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is cancer that begins in the lungs, the two spongy organs in the chest that take in oxygen when breathing in and release carbon dioxide when breathing out. It is a leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States and is among the most common cancers worldwide. Most lung cancers begin in the cells that line the tubes of the lungs, called bronchi. Lung cancer is most often caused by cigarette smoking, but exposure to asbestos and other toxic chemicals, radon gas, high levels of air pollution, and secondhand smoke also may play a role, as can a family history of lung cancer.

Why UAB

The UAB Medicine Lung Cancer Program offers patients a multidisciplinary team of physicians and surgeons to evaluate and manage lung cancer. The collaboration of medical and surgical specialists helps ensure the most efficient and effective means of caring for your cancer. UAB is an ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center, as designated by the American College of Radiology’s Committee on CT Accreditation, which certifies that we maintain the most advanced imaging equipment and techniques.

The Pulmonary Medicine component of the Lung Cancer Program is focused on the initial diagnosis and staging of suspected neoplasms in the chest and on managing neoplastic complications such as malignant pleural effusions. The Thoracic Surgery area of the program offers one of the most experienced teams of thoracic surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists in the world, and the group routinely performs complicated lung surgeries on patients referred by other physicians.

In addition, UAB Medicine is home to an up-to-date Thoracic Surgery Unit, one of only a handful of its kind in the world dedicated solely to caring for diseases and disorders of the lungs and esophagus.

The Lung Cancer Program is part of the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, which is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center located in a four-state area that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. The center is home to an outstanding faculty of more than 350 physicians and researchers, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized for their oncology expertise.

From bench to bedside, the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is at the forefront of cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and researchers have pioneered advances in chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and nutrition. With its multidisciplinary teams and state-of-the-art technology, the center provides ongoing care to more than 20,000 cancer patients each year.

VIDEOS

UAB interventional pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons collaborate in treating lung cancer with less invasive procedures.

UAB nurse, Barbara, diagnosed with cancer in both lungs, is now cancer free and thriving, thanks to treatment from her multi-disciplinary care team at UAB Medicine.