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Failed pulmonary function test

I have recently been told I have lung cancer based on a PET Scan. I just had my PFT and i think i failed it. Will the surgeon refuse to do surgery?

  1. Hi . Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Is there a specific reason you think the PFT went poorly? The PFT measures multiple aspects of lung function and for a variety of purposes (see this overview: https://lungcancer.net/diagnosis/pulmonary-function-testing). One of them can be to help determine which treatment may or may not be best for for a patient, but the results do not necessarily rule out surgery. This research article found that "In patients with impaired pulmonary function, preoperative pulmonary function tests are predictors of pulmonary complications when lobectomy for lung cancer is performed via thoracotomy but not via thoracoscopy:" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3148813/. In addition, this other study found "Lobectomy can be safely performed in select patients considered to be high risk for resection by pulmonary function tests. Additional criteria are needed to assess risk:" https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201305-117OC. Of course, every individual case is different. Your doctor should be able to discuss your results and what they could mean for various treatment options to find the best and safest way to move forward for you. Please feel free, if you like, to keep us posted on how you are doing. This community is here for you. Best, Richard (LungCancer.net Team)

    1. Thank you for answering me. Two reasons I think I did poorly is that the tech kept saying, "Thank you for your effort." And the two numbers she mentioned were 68% and 48%. Those numbers don't sound good to me.
      I am just so scared right now. At the same time as finding the spots on my lung, they also found an ascending aortic aneurysm and said I had had a heart attack.

      1. , I know I still have to have a heart catherization as one test showed I had a silent heart attack at some point. That has not been scheduled yet.

      2. Please keep us posted, we are here for you! Warmly, Alisa

    2. Thank you

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