Suzanne Pleshette's agent reported on Friday that the actress is currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer. The cancer was discovered during a routine X-ray and was no bigger than a grain of sand. Pleshette apparently feels very lucky and is in great spirits as she receives outpatient chemotherapy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center -- where the cancer was diagnosed. Pleshette, 69, is best known for her 1970s role as wife Emily on The Bob Newhart Show. Her other television credits include 8 Simple Rules and Will & Grace. She has appeared in the films If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium and Oh God! Book II. And her raspy voice has been featured on several animated films.
Pleshette has been married to Tom Poston, 84, since 2001. Poston costarred with Pleshette on The Bob Newhart Show.
Pleshette has been married to Tom Poston, 84, since 2001. Poston costarred with Pleshette on The Bob Newhart Show.
1. Grain of sand?
Particles that range from about 2 mm down to about 0.05 mm in diameter are called sand.
Spiral CT, a technology introduced in the 1990s, can pick up tumors well under 1 centimeter (cm) in size, while routine chest X-rays detect tumors about 1 to 2 cm in size.
Size and survival advantage:
Preliminary data from screening protocols suggest that smaller lesions are likely to represent earlier stage and potentially more curable disease. Of the 27 cancers detected in the Early Lung Cancer Action Project,[12] 22 were pathologic stage IA; of the 15 cancers < 1 cm in size, only 2 were found to have lymph node metastases. Furthermore, the propensity of tumors to metastasize is likely to be proportional to their size. Ishida et al[13] found the incidence of lymph node spread to be 38% for tumors > 2 cm, 17% for tumors between 1 cm and 2 cm, and nearly zero in lesions < 1cm.
This study provides preliminary support for the theory that size may correlate to some degree with biology and that small lesions do represent early stage disease. It provides some reassurance that there may be a size threshold below which there is minimal or reduced risk of tumor metastases.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/464462_4
Posted at 9:50AM on Aug 12th 2006 by Michelle