[The first decades of Danish lung cancer surgery]

The paper describes the first decades in Danish lung cancer surgery. The pioneers were Erik Husfeldt, Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Rigshospitalet and Tage Kjaer, Head of the municipal Department of Thoracic Surgery, Øresundshopitalet Copenhagen. Up-to-date operative treatment depended on early diagnosis which required education of the general public and cooperation with other medical specialities, especially tuberculosis out-patient clinics. The results in a geographical region demonstrated that surgery had an effect on 5-year survival, but the problem og lung cancer deaths could not be solved by surgery alone, due to the increasing number of new cases. The second generation of thoracic surgeons were educated by the pioneers, but they were also fully trained in general surgery. New departments were established in local hospitals, whose catchment areas were to small. Therefore, for many years the surgical activity of these departments was not confined to thoracic surgery. The establishment, activities and results of one of these new departments are described. The question remains: When can we tell a lung cancer patient that he has been cured by the operation? The answer according to a cautious estimate is: After fourteen years.