[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/01\/surviving-lung-cancer-kathys-story\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/01\/surviving-lung-cancer-kathys-story\/","headline":"Surviving Lung Cancer: Kathy’s Story","name":"Surviving Lung Cancer: Kathy’s Story","description":"When Kathy Trent, 69, learned she had emphysema in 2014, she immediately quit her pack a day smoking habit. Thomas Rice, MD, her pulmonologist at UPMC Passavant, recommended that she begin yearly low-dose computerized tomography (CT) lung cancer screenings \u2014 a program the hospital had just introduced for high-risk patients.","datePublished":"2021-01-11","dateModified":"2023-04-17","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC Hillman Cancer Center","url":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc-hillman-cancer-center\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/kathy-trent-levy_12-20-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/kathy-trent-levy_12-20-1.jpg","height":325,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/01\/surviving-lung-cancer-kathys-story\/","about":["Cancer Care","Health Topics A-Z","UPMC Stories"],"wordCount":551,"articleBody":"When Kathy Trent, 69, learned she had emphysema in 2014, she immediately quit her pack-a-day smoking habit. Thomas Rice, MD, her pulmonologist at UPMC Passavant, recommended that she begin yearly low-dose computerized tomography (CT) lung cancer screenings \u2014 a program the hospital has for high-risk patients.In June 2019, the CT showed a nodule deep in the upper left lobe of Kathy’s lungs. Although a PET scan determined it was noncancerous, Dr. Rice continued monitoring the suspicious mass with more frequent follow-up CT scans. A May 2020 scan showed the nodule had suddenly doubled in size.Harnessing Advanced TechnologyKathy needed a more precise test, a needle biopsy, to determine whether the nodule was cancerous or benign. She was referred to a pulmonologist at UPMC Passavant, who used an innovative tool, the Monarch\u2122 robotic bronchoscopy system, to reach the nodule, inspect it, and collect tissue samples. Before this new technology, experts couldn\u2019t reach these areas of the lungs to reliably biopsy a nodule.Unfortunately, the biopsy showed Kathy had stage I lung cancer. The multidisciplinary team developed a plan for Kathy’s treatment.The next month, Ryan Levy, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at UPMC Passavant and thoracic surgeon with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, removed the tumor and 16 lymph nodes in a minimally invasive robotic lobectomy procedure.\u201cThe Monarch allowed us to fast-forward her care,” says Dr. Levy, who see patients in Cranberry Township, Erie, McCandless, Seneca, and Sewickley. \u201cWithout it, Kathy would not have been diagnosed for another year or two. That time gap would have allowed her cancer to spread to the lymph nodes and beyond.”Kathy was one of the first patients to benefit from the hospital’s robotic bronchoscopy platform. It is regarded as a cutting-edge tool in the battle against lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.\u201cThis technology and the wonderful doctors at UPMC Passavant saved my life,” she says. \u201cThey caught my lung cancer early before I felt any symptoms.”Discovering Early-Stage CancerMore than half of all lung cancer patients die within one year of diagnosis, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). But when cancer is detected early \u2014 especially before it has a chance to spread beyond the lungs \u2014 the five-year survival rate rises from 5% to 56%, according to the NCI.\u201cWhen lung cancer is detected at an earlier stage, we’re able to offer our patients more treatment options \u2014 meaning patients have better outcomes,” Dr. Levy says.UPMC Passavant is among the first hospitals in the nation and was the first in southwest Pennsylvania to use the robotic bronchoscopy system. Since May 2020, more than 100 diagnostic procedures have been performed at the hospital. Patients from across Pennsylvania have been referred to the program.\u201cIt takes us to a whole new level of cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Dr. Levy says.At UPMC Passavant, patients benefit from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s comprehensive lung cancer program. The program offers early screening, advanced technology, and a team approach to managing care.Kathy\u2019s story is an example of how the program brings together specialists to find early-stage cancer, diagnose and manage patient care, and surgically remove tumors for an early cure.* Monarch\u2122 is a trademark of Auris Health, Inc.Editor's Note: This article was originally published on January 11, 2021, and was last reviewed on April 26, 2022."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Surviving Lung Cancer: Kathy’s Story","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2021\/01\/surviving-lung-cancer-kathys-story\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]