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Finding the Best Treatment Plan for You

Once you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, our team of specialists will work with you to develop your individualized treatment plan.

Beebe's medical oncologists and lung surgeons meet regularly to discuss cases and collaborate on the best treatment plan for you. At Beebe Healthcare, new investments in technology and training have allowed us to meet the best evidence-based clinical practice guidelines around who should be tested for lung cancer and how they should be treated.


Patient-Centered, Individualized Care

Beebe's multidisciplinary oncology team works with the patient and the patient's care team to create an individualized treatment plan. Treatment of lung cancer can include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, or a combination of the three, have been shown to be the most effective.

When you come into Beebe's Oncology Services locations, whether the Tunnell Cancer Center near Rehoboth Beach, or our South Coastal Cancer Center near Millville, our team will provide a warm environment where you can be yourself and discuss your care with our expert team.


Using Technology for Diagnosis

Diagnosis of lung cancer can occur in several ways. In Delaware, the lung cancer screening program has been very successful in providing free or low-cost lung CT scans. The CT scans are incredibly effective at showing lung cancer. Each cancer found early is potentially a life saved. Beebe offers additional innovative technology for diagnosis of cancer and lung cancer, including 3D imaging to navigate the lung’s narrow passages where most tumors reside and test growths for the presence of cancer, a technique called navigational bronchoscopy. We also use highly sensitive ultrasounds to spot lung cancer.


Beebe Offers Many Surgical Options

Beebe offers multiple treatments for lung cancer and lung issues. Working with your physician and care team, you can decide the best treatment option for your illness.

  • Open Surgery: Lung cancer surgery may be performed using open surgery through a long chest incision. Doctors may also need to spread the ribs to access the lung. Open surgery allows doctors to touch and feel organs while operating.
  • Minimally Invasive Surgery options include:
  • Thoracoscopy/VATS: Thoracoscopy is also called video-assisted thoracic surgery or VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery). Doctors insert a tiny camera (thorascope) and surgical instruments into the chest through small incisions. The camera takes images inside the patient’s body and sends them to a video monitor in the operating room to guide surgeons as they operate.
  • Robotically Assisted Surgery: When using robotically assisted surgery, doctors make a few small incisions - similar to thoracoscopy procedures. During robotically assisted surgery, the surgeon sits at a console near the patient and controls the instruments, which bend and rotate. The surgeon uses a 3D HD vision system which provides a magnified view inside the patient’s body, which is part of the da Vinci Xi surgical system used at Beebe's Center for Robotic Surgery. The system translates all hand movements into smaller, precise movements of tiny instruments in the patient’s body.

Robotically Assisted Thoracic Surgery

In addition to navigational bronchoscopy and other advanced lung cancer treatment procedures, Beebe's Center for Robotic Surgery also now gives patients the option to have robotically assisted surgery, which allows for more precise removal of tumors.

There are different types of lung cancer procedures and depending on your type of cancer and recommendations from your doctor, you might be able to have minimally invasive robotic surgery procedures including:

  • Wedge resection: surgical removal of a triangular slice of tissue or tumor
  • Lobectomy: surgical removal of a section of lung
  • Pneumonectomy: surgical removal of entire lung.

All surgery carries with it some amount of risk. With robotically assisted surgery, patients can expect less scarring, quicker recovery time, and more precise removal of tumors.

Studies have shown:

  • Patients experience less blood loss
  • Lower risk of infection
  • Patients in 86% of cases are released from the hospital sooner.

If surgery is an option for your type of lung cancer, talk to your doctor about which type of procedure is right for you. Beebe physicians are here to help you make informed decisions about your care plan. Additional resources and support are available to help educate and empower patients. For more information, please call 302-645-3770.