Jimmy Amaya didn’t let a lung cancer diagnosis get him down.
At 60, the West Palm Beach resident knew he was in good hands at Wellington Regional Medical Center.
“I was having a hard time sleeping and had some discomfort in my chest,” explained Amaya. “Imaging first found I had pneumonia in the left lower lung, but then a PET scan was performed as a follow-up, and a cancerous tumor in that location was discovered.”
Amaya was recommended to thoracic surgeon Mark Meyer, MD, who performed a bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that uses a flexible tube to see into the lungs. The tube has a tiny camera and a small tool on the end to take samples of tissue for testing.
“After diagnosing the cancer, and confirming it had not spread, we removed the tumor robotically,” explained Dr. Meyer. “He stayed in the hospital only a few days and recuperated well. He also received four rounds of preventive chemotherapy and recuperated well.”
“I feel good. I would recommend Wellington to everyone, and the doctors and staff are so kind and respectful,” said Amaya. “He does his best for every patient and I have already recommended him to family, friends and co-workers.”
The Comprehensive Lung Program at Wellington Regional Medical Center offers navigational bronchoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), which can enable earlier detection of lung cancer using an advanced, minimally invasive approach.
These procedures are used to make a diagnosis after a low-dose computerized tomography (CT) scan or other screening test finds something of concern.
“Because the hospital has a comprehensive program, patients can get all the care and resources they need in one place,” says thoracic surgeon Marcus Eby, MD. “And for patients who are not candidates for surgery, we offer stereotactic radiation, which is a more intense, targeted therapy. We want to catch it at an early stage.”
If you need a referral to a surgeon, call our free physician referral service at 561-798-9880.