Imagine a person who has never smoked. This person has lived a healthy life. Their doctor recommends a visit to the emergency room due to a persistent illness. They were then found to have a suspicious blot on their chest x-ray.  A CAT scan reveals a highly suspicious lesion on one lung.  She is then diagnosed with lung cancer.  No one expected it.

        Ciaccio said "I was in total disbelief. My daughter was expecting a baby.  This baby would be my first grandchild. I feared the worst. I worried I would miss out on time with my growing family.  I was devastated thinking my cancer was a life-ending disease. "  Ciaccio's doctor ordered a PET scan.  This scan uses a radioactive tracer to search for traces of cancer. The scan found signs of cancer, and a biopsy confirmed that she had lung cancer. The diagnosis was a shock to Ciaccio, who considered herself healthy and had never smoked.

        Ciaccio was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Lung cancer is rare in never-smokers. This is called lung cancer in "never smokers".

        Villena-Vargas, a thoracic surgeon, has seen a number of cases of lung cancer in never-smokers.  He has seen about 250, 000 new lung cancer diagnoses each year.  He says "never-smokers" account for about 20 percent of the 250, 000 new lung cancer diagnoses each year.  Villena-Vargas said the main cause of lung cancer in never-smokers are environmental factors and genetic conditions.  Villena-Vargas said "Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer each year. If lung cancer in never-smokers was treated as its own category, it would be among the top 10 deadliest cancers. "

        Lung cancer in never smokers is difficult to catch early.  The diagnosis is usually found incidentally.  It is harder to catch lung cancer in a never-smoking population.  It is hard to catch it at an earlier stage.  Luckily, Ciaccio's cancer was caught at Stage I, the earliest stage of cancer.  This stage is the most treatable.

        Ciaccio was not sure what caused her illness, but she was lucky.  She had a friend who advised her to see a specialist named Dr. Robert Cerfolio at NYU.  Cerfolio is well known in the field of robotic surgery.  He has performed well over 3, 000 robotic surgeries.

        Cerfolio's surgery allows surgeons to make several small incisions between a patient's ribs.  He uses a robotic system.  This system allows the surgeon to sit at a console.  A high-definition camera provides a view of the chest cavity.  Cerfolio said the tiny robotic instruments allow for more precise movement.  It also means a surgeon doesn't have to go through a patient's ribs to operate.  The small incisions result in less pain and recovery time.

        Cerfolio proposed a robotic left upper lobectomy, which would take about half of her left lung.  The surgeon performs the surgery from a console.  Cerfolio used tiny robotic instruments to perform the surgery.  The surgery was a success.  Cerfolio removed 25 lymph nodes.  Ciaccio went home the next morning and her cancer was successfully removed.  She did not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

        Ciaccio is now focusing on her health.  She has had multiple follow-up appointments.  She is staying in close contact with Cerfolio and his team.  She is seeing a local pulmonologist to make sure her lung function is recovering.

        Ciaccio said "I feel like I'm in good hands all the way around. "

        Ciaccio said "I have all intention of being here 20 more years.  I need to do whatever I need to do to achieve that. "

        Ciaccio is now focusing on her family.  She is spending plenty of time with her daughter and granddaughter.  She is going to play pickleball with her husband.  She said "This grandbaby is just overwhelming and I can't get enough of her.  That's my focus. "

The Unlikely Cancer Diagnosis

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