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Surgery for lung cancer
Tubes and dripsYou will have several tubes in place, which will be removed as you recover. A drip in a vein in your arm (intravenous drip) will give you fluid and medicines. There may be tubes in your chest to drain fluid and help your lungs expand; and a tube in your bladder to check how much urine you pass. | |
PainYou may have some pain, but this can be controlled. Managing the pain will allow you to do breathing exercises and help you to recover. Pain will improve when tubes are removed from the chest. | |
Recovery timeYou will probably go home after 3–7 days, but it may take 4-8 weeks after VATS or 6-12 weeks after thoracotomy to get back to your usual activities. Walking can improve fitness, clear your lungs and speed up recovery. | |
Exercises for breathlessnessA pulmonary rehabilitation program can help improve breathlessness and reduce the risk of chest infection. A physiotherapist will show you how to do exercises. To continue rehabilitation after you leave hospital, talk to your surgeon or visit Lung Foundation Australia. See more simple strategies to ease breathlessness at home. |
See our general section on Surgery for more information about surgery and recovery.
→ READ MORE: Radiation therapy for lung cancer
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A/Prof Brett Hughes, Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, The Prince Charles Hospital and The University of Queensland, QLD; Dr Brendan Dougherty, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Specialist, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Kim Greco, Nurse Consultant – Lung Cancer, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Dr Susan Harden, Radiation Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; A/Prof Rohit Joshi, Medical Oncologist, GenesisCare and Lyell McEwin Hospital, Director, Cancer Research SA; Kathlene Robson, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council ACT; Peter Spolc, Consumer; Nicole Taylor, Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Cancer Specialist Nurse, Canberra Hospital, ACT; Rosemary Taylor, Consumer; A/Prof Gavin M Wright, Director of Surgical Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital and Research and Education Lead – Lung Cancer, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, VIC.
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