Q:   Would a chest x-ray earlier have found lung cancer sooner?
A:   It may have found it sooner, but it would not have necessarily have affected your outcome (if or when you might die from the disease).

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Q:   I have lung cancer and my doctor wants to do a surgical resection. How do I know if this is the right thing to do?
A:   Review the section, "Questions to Ask," at this Web site. Do not submit to any procedure until you are clear and have all the answers to your questions. Be aware that if surgery is being considered for lung cancer, it is a good sign, signifying that the degree of tumor involvement or spread is probably limited. Also, you should consider getting a second opinion. Your doctor should not be offended by this suggestion and, in fact, might encourage it. Your health care professional may recommend having a pulmonary function test, which helps identify patients with extremely high surgical risk. Also, cardiopulmonary exercising testing may be helpful to determine whether or not you can withstand the rigors of this surgery.

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