As 2023 was drawing to a close, Shannon Haydin of Monona, Wisconsin was feeling short of breath at times, especially after exerting herself.
Carrying her luggage up the stairs while visiting her daughter in New York City is one such moment that sticks in her mind. Shannon brushed it off, thinking it may have been related to some extra weight she gained during the winter holidays. Unfortunately, her shortness of breath did not improve in the coming weeks.
“My husband’s birthday is February 18, and I couldn’t even finish singing ‘Happy Birthday’ because I was out of breath,” Shannon says.
Because the shortness of breath persisted, Shannon saw her family physician, Dr. Bridget Pribbenow at UnityPoint Health – Meriter Monona Clinic, who ordered a diagnostic CT lung scan.
Little did Shannon know that at age 50, she was walking around with a cancerous nodule in her left lung. Upon first seeing an X-ray-like picture of the tumor, Shannon noticed several spikes in its shape, so she named her tumor “Spikey.” She knew one thing for sure; Spikey needed to go. Fortunately, UW Health now offers a new form of treatment for patients like Shannon whose lung cancer is detected early.
Sadly, lung cancer, the #1 cause of cancer death in the U.S., still carries a unique stigma of blame, even though 15% to 20% of lung cancer patients never (or barely) smoked cigarettes. Shannon grew up in a household of smokers and smoked herself, although she quit by her early 30s. It’s impossible to say whether smoking caused her disease.
A radiologist and pulmonologist from UW Health agreed that the spot was concerning, and a biopsy would be needed to verify if cancer was present. By the following morning, Dr. Pribbenow called Shannon to review the results of the imaging. Fortunately, Shannon was not left to wonder what was next, as Dr. Pribbenow explained how the UW Health care team would attack “Spikey” and, hopefully, cure Shannon.
“Lung cancer, historically, has been difficult to cure because patients typically don’t have symptoms until the cancer has already spread,” says Dr. Pribbenow. “It was important to me to move quickly in Shannon’s case. We hoped it was nothing, but ‘nothing’ is hard to prove unless you rule everything else out. So, while it turned out to be cancer, Shannon had a good prognosis because it was caught early.”
Biopsy and tumor removal were performed under single anesthesia
Even better, thanks to a state-of-the-art procedure now available at UW Health, patients like Shannon can receive a biopsy to confirm whether cancer is present and, if so, surgery to remove the tumor — all under a single anesthesia.
“Shannon was a perfect candidate for the single-anesthesia procedure,” says Dr. Andrea Axtell, a UW Health cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in lung and esophageal cancer operations. “Dr. Pribbenow acted quickly, which allowed us to pinpoint Shannon’s cancer at a very early stage when it was treatable and her long-term outlook was good.”
Knowing how a little humor can diffuse a stressful situation, Shannon and her family wore custom T-shirts to the hospital on the day of surgery. On the front of the shirt was a cartoon rendering of the spike-shaped tumor running from the Haydins’ house. “Time to evict Spikey. 4/18/24,” read the caption.
Before Shannon was wheeled into the operating room, Dr. Axtell reassured her that one of two things would be true after Shannon woke up in the recovery room:
Her tumor was not cancerous, and she would go home that day; or
Her tumor was cancerous, but it would be removed by the time she woke up.
“Shannon’s tumor was cancerous, but fortunately treatable,” says Dr. Axtell. “We start the procedure by using a robotic Ion bronchoscope that allows us to remove enough tumor to perform a biopsy. A pathologist stands by and immediately examines the tissue to determine if cancer is present. If it is, as was the case with Shannon, we keep the patient on the table and remove the section of lung that contains the tumor.”
Walking three miles just six weeks after surgery
Because Shannon’s cancer was caught early and confined to a single location, neither radiation nor chemotherapy were needed. She went home two days later and began taking short walks the day after she came home. Six weeks later, she was walking three miles at a time.
“My lung healed up really well,” Shannon says. “Dr. Axtell assured me that even though I would now have only 80 percent of my normal lung capacity, it would not significantly affect my quality of life.”
Shannon knows her outcome could have been different had her primary care team not been so proactive.
“You hear stories of people who are told ‘Let’s wait and see,’ but that was definitely not how I was treated,” she says. “I was impressed by how quickly all the doctors communicated with each other and came up with a plan. I could not ask for a better outcome.”
Shannon also encourages others to talk with their doctor if anything feels unusual.
“Listen to your body. Advocate for yourself,” she says. “When I first learned I might have cancer, I decided I was not going to freak out. I just wanted ‘Spikey’ gone and am so grateful. I also was impressed by Dr. Axtell, who is not only a great surgeon but a compassionate and caring human. If my story can help one person, I’m glad to tell it.”
Ask your doctor about lung cancer CT screening
Diagnosing lung cancer early enough to cure a patient has always been difficult because people usually don’t exhibit symptoms until the disease has advanced. Fortunately, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening has made it possible to diagnose early-stage lung cancer in patients who are at elevated risk.
Low-dose CT scans, are now widely available and strongly recommended on an annual basis by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for patients who:
Have a smoking history of at least 20 pack-years (i.e. smoking one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years); and
Are currently smoking or have quit during the past 15 years; and
Are between ages 50 and 80.
“Thousands of people in the U.S. qualify for lung cancer screening, but unfortunately only about 6% of those at high risk have actually gotten screened,” says Dr. Andrea Axtell, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center. “Having this non-invasive scan can be a life-saving step for so many people who meet the criteria.”
Dr. Axtell strongly encourages people who meet the screening criteria to talk with their doctor.
“The best news is that even if cancer turns up in your low-dose CT screening, your chances of a good long-term outcome are so much greater because the disease may still be treatable,” she says.