American Cancer Society (ACS) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a study comparing lung cancer patients’ lengths of stay (LOS) in facilities affected by a wildfires vs. those who stayed at those facilities when no wildfires took place.
Wildfires affect patients recovering from lung cancer surgery through smoke, contaminated environments, and the stress they cause. The researchers studied adults who underwent “curative-intent lobectomy or pneumonectomy for stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer between 2004 and 2021,” according to ACS. The results revealed a nearly two-day delay leaving the facility in patients “exposed to a wildfire disaster declaration in the county of the treating facility,” compared to those who had not.
The research is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).
