Saint Thomas Lung and Thoracic Center Opens

A local hospital is opening the first ever lung cancer and thoracic center in the southeast.

It'll make it easier for patients to get treatment .. and hopefully .. increase the odds that they'll survive.


Nancy Logan: "I had a cough. A simple, persistant cough"

It was a cough that 64 year old nancy logan thought was the result of using her voice as a teacher for 32 years.

But she would soon find out .. it was much more.

Dr wright says "hi nancy how are you?"

Nancy had stage three lung cancer.

Nancy Logan: "I guess i had a feeling something was wrong .. but never thinking of cancer, tuberculosis, histioplasmosis, something i might have picked up."

Nancy never suspected lung cancer .. because she has never smoked.

But a quarter of the patients with lung cancer are non smokers.

Laura Faber / Fox 17 News: "Nancy was one of the lucky ones. She was 1 of 25 % of lung cancer patients eligible for surgery. So two years ago thats what surgeons did. They removed her right lung."

A survivor's scar is what's left.

Nancy sometimes gets a little breathless.

She gets flu shots .. and regular checkups.

It means driving two hours from Camden, a trip she sometimes made daily during treatment.

Nancy Logan says "it was many trips back to Nashville, which was 106 miles each way from our driveway."

This new Lung Cancer and Thoracic Center at St Thomas Hospital, the first in the southeast, means a faster path to diagnosis and treatment and less stress for patients like Nancy who live far away.

Dr Jeff Wright / Medical Director: "This is an opportunity to streamline their care .. get as much done at each appointment we can so they dont have to make those multiple multiple trips."
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Medical Director Dr Jeff Wright says not only will patients have access to all the doctors and treatment they need in one setting.

There may be a medical advantage too.

Dr Wright says "We actually meet as a team of physicians and talk to one another which is something that just cant happen in a regular consult situation."

Nancy Logan says the new lung cancer center provides convenience and she hopes in her case, a long life.

Nancy Logan says "I joined an elite group I too am going to be a survivor. Never thought anything else."


The new lung cancer and thoracic center at St Thomas opens tomorrow.

The same day as the great american smokeout.

For more information or to schedule an appointment call 222-lung.