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>> My name is Michael Reed. I'm an Associate Professor of Surgery at Penn State Milton
S. Hershey Medical Center. I'm a thoracic surgeon, which means I operate in the chest.
When I went into medical school, I really went in with an open mind. But very early
on, I was attracted to surgery for a number of reasons. One is I like the hands on aspect
of it. There is a technical challenge to it. I also like curing cancer. And when we don't
cure cancer, and we're treating for palliation, I like making people feel better, improving
their lives, and doing it in a hands on manner. And then finally, I like -- I love the atmosphere
of the operating room. I'm surrounded by people who are brilliant, who are empathetic, who
are just great physicians and nurses, and other caregivers. We're all part of a team.
The disease we most commonly care for is lung cancer, but there are other cancers in the
chest, cancers of the esophagus, of the chest wall. There's also cancers that have spread
to the chest that require a thoracic surgeon. Most cases are performed using minimally invasive
surgery, through small holes using robotic assistance, or video-assisted thoracic surgery,
also called VATs. The vast majority of operations that our team performs for lung cancer is
done with minimally invasive approaches. Thoracic surgery, when we're taking care of cancers,
can be both for quality of life, but also equally importantly to cure cancer. In our
multidisciplinary program, we think it's ideal for patients to be referred to us as early
in the process as possible, because there are a number of steps that need to be taken
in figuring out the best approach, not only treatment, but the steps beforehand. These
steps include obtaining a diagnosis, obtaining staging, and then working out a treatment
plan. At Penn State you'll have an expert surgeon, but you'll also have an expert in
thoracic anesthesiology. You'll have nurses and other caregivers who are taking care of
patients who've had thoracic surgery on a daily basis. We do a lot of it, and that's
why we do it well.
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