If the tumour has invaded the heart, great
vessels, mediastinum, carina or oesophagus or
if there are separate nodules in different lobes
of the same lung, the cancerous lymph nodes
will be confined to the hilar, peribronchial or
intrapulmonary regions of the same lung as
the tumour. Advances in surgical techniques
and assessment mean that patients previously
considered to be unfit or unable to undergo
resection, may now be offered potentially
curative treatment (Subotic 2009). It has
been suggested that referral to a short, but
comprehensive, pre-operative pulmonary
rehabilitation programme can improve recovery,
and mortality and morbidity of patients with
lung cancer (Harada et al 2013).
The most important pretreatment