NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than 225,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, according to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation.
A revolutionary cancer detection tool called Cytalux is now helping surgeons remove cancerous cells with greater precision.
Steve Keyer never expected to find himself in a hospital room. "I literally have been healthy up until this point," said Keyer, a lung cancer patient at Ascension Saint Thomas.
Keyer's medical challenges started a couple of years ago with unexplained symptoms.
"We couldn't understand what was going on. Had blood work, nothing seemed right. Had a colonoscopy, and that's when they found it. I had a stage four colorectal cancer," Keyer said.
While undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer, doctors discovered another problem: lung cancer.
"I have a nodule in my lung that nobody was going to touch because it was on my aortic arch," he said.
That's when an innovative cancer detection tool called Cytalux and a skilled surgeon changed his outlook.
"This is Steve's upper lung, and this is the tumor," said Dr. John Lazar, chief thoracic surgeon, director of thoracic oncology at Ascension Saint Thomas.
Cytalux works by having patients receive an infusion before surgery that causes cancerous cells to glow like neon highlighter under infrared light.
"This allows surgeons to precisely and efficiently go in and remove these tumors that otherwise we may not even be able to feel, and we definitely cannot see with our naked eye," Dr. Lazar said.
Dr. Lazar noted that Cytalux is currently the only drug of its kind to detect this type of cancer, but he sees promising developments ahead.
"I think we're in a new golden age for oncology and cancer treatment, and things that were not open to surgeons in the past have now become open," Dr. Lazar said.
While Keyer's initial cancer battle continues, his lungs are now clear, and his outlook has improved.
"Having that nodule removed, again, changed the whole kind of layout of the direction of my care," Keyer said.
Dr. Lazar says that, like any medical procedure, using Cytalux carries some risks, but patients at Ascension Saint Thomas have experienced positive outcomes with the technology.
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