In this episode of The Rural American Surgeon, host Dr. Randy Lehman is joined by renowned thoracic surgeon Dr. Shanda Blackmon. With a career spanning MD Anderson, Mayo Clinic, and now Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Blackmon brings a wealth of knowledge on lung and esophageal cancer screening, staging, and treatment.

They walk through practical approaches to lung cancer screening, esophageal reflux evaluation, staging workups, and the impact of new therapies. There’s also an honest conversation about what palliative care really means in a rural setting, and how to know when “doing more” might not be better.

Whether you’re doing EGDs, managing smoking histories, or counseling patients on cancer risk, this conversation is full of insight for everyday decision-making in rural surgery.

0:00 Intro
1:16 Dr. Blackmon’s Background
5:15 Why Thoracic Surgery Is Special to You
9:17 Palliative Care & End-of-Life in Rural Practice
17:19 Lung Cancer Screening & Workup
27:54 Esophageal Cancer & Upper Endoscopy
49:36 Lung Cancer Treatment Strategies
58:13 Surgery After Immunotherapy
1:00:32 Financial Corner
1:10:41 Classic Surgery Story
1:13:07 Resources for the Busy Rural Surgeon

Resources Mentioned:

AJCC Staging Manual:
https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/ajcc/

NCCN Guidelines:
https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/

USPSTF Screening Guidelines:
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org