2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (Posters)-P1.25. Delays to Early-Stage Lung Cancer Surgery: Patient and Surgeon Perspectives

P1.25. Delays to Early-Stage Lung Cancer Surgery: Patient and Surgeon Perspectives - PDF(Slides)

Pdf Summary

This study aimed to explore the perspectives of both patients and surgeons regarding delays in early-stage lung cancer surgery. A total of 104 patients were interviewed, with 85.5% considering their time to treatment as timely and 14.5% considering it as untimely. Overall, seven common themes emerged from the interviews, including a known source of delay, the varied effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, a sense of control, confidence in care, cancer consciousness, causative factors of lung cancer, and support systems. Surgeons were surveyed, and while opinions varied regarding the impact of a week-to-week delay on surgery, they agreed on specific characteristics that should influence time-to-treatment initiation, such as nodule size, location, and cancer histology. Emotional health and anxiety were found to have the highest impact on urgency, according to the participants. The study concluded that patient interviews provided valuable insights into the obstacles and challenges faced by lung cancer patients in their treatment journey. The perspectives of both patients and surgeons can inform strategies to reduce treatment delays, such as implementing social work outreach for early-stage lung cancer patients. This research was supported by grants from the Simons Foundation, and the authors expressed gratitude to the participating physicians and patients in the Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment.

Asset Subtitle

Sydney Kantor

Meta Tag

Speaker Sydney Kantor

Topic Early-Stage NSCLC: Changing Paradigms & Outcomes

Keywords

early-stage lung cancer surgery

patient perspectives

surgeon perspectives

delays in surgery

time to treatment

COVID-19 pandemic

sense of control

cancer consciousness

support systems

reducing treatment delays