"A Decade in General Thoracic Surgery, Lessons Learned...Lessons Taught" to be presented at Brigham and Women’s June 9th

On Wednesday, June 9, Sudish Murthy, M.D., Ph.D., Surgical Director, Center of Major Airway Disease Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Cleveland Clinic presents his lecture A Decade in General Thoracic Surgery: Lessons Learned...Lessons Taught at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Surgery Grand Rounds.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is one of the premier medical facilities worldwide, having been ranked on US News and World Report’s Honor Roll of America’s best hospitals for 11 years running, as well as having been ranked in the top 100 hospitals on the Solucient’s list for the last eight consecutive years. The center is internationally renowned for its biomedical research, educational commitment and excellence in patient care. With more than 44,000 patients yearly, BTW is nationally recognized for many of their programs, including their cancer care through the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Care Center.

The Dana-Farber/ Brigham and Women’s Cancer Care Center features the Carole M. and Philip L. Lowe Thoracic Oncology Program, which focuses on expertly treating patients with lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, mediastinal and thymic tumors, and metastic cancers in the chest. The Thoracic Oncology Program provides comprehensive consultation and treatment with prompt correspondence and collaboration and access to the most current clinical trials and treatments.

Thoracic cancer patients often require a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which is coordinated by thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, dieticians, nutritionists and social workers. One of the most devastating thoracic cancers is malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs that prevents friction between organs. It is generally fatal because symptoms do not arise until late stages of the disease, preventing detection.

Some of the country’s best mesothelioma doctors are found at the Lowe Thoracic Oncology Program at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Care Center. The most recognized is Dr. David Sugarbaker, who founded the International Mesothelioma Program, the largest program of its kind worldwide. While mesothelioma patients generally survive only one or two years after detection, the clinical focus of this program is to extend the life of patients by understanding the causative factors of the development of the disease.

Mesothelioma treatment, like other thoracic cancer treatments, generally involves surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, but depends on many factors, including the location, size and stage of the cancer, as well as the age and physical health of the patient. For the most part, these treatments are not curative.

Because mesothelioma is generally detected after the disease has aggressively invaded the body, curative measures are typically impossible.  Therefore, treatment focuses on lengthening and improving the quality of the patient’s life.

Dr. Sudish Murthy’s presentation will be held in the Bornstein Family Amphitheater at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts from 8:15 AM to 9:00 AM.

For more information, please contact Linda D. Smith at ldsmith@partners.org, call 617-732-8468 or visit http://www.brighamandwomens.org/view/EventDetails.aspx?eventID=46265. For additional mesothelioma information, including a database of the leading physicians in the field of thoracic oncology and mesothelioma treatment, please visit the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center website.