Lung cancer · Guide
Lung cancer explorer: guide
Show the lungs within the body, enter the tumour’s lobe, position and size from the report, explain the treatment and share a matching picture sheet.
For patients and families
Look at the picture together
The picture opens with the whole body. Choose Chest to see both lungs with the heart, windpipe and ribs, then Lung to move close. Drag to turn it and scroll or pinch to zoom.
The right lung has three lobes (upper, middle and lower) and the left lung two (upper and lower), because the heart sits towards the left.
Show what your team has found
Your clinician can enter which lung and lobe the tumour is in, whether it is near the centre or the edge, its size, and any lymph nodes your report describes as abnormal. The slice in the corner shows the same level as a CT scan would, seen from your feet. The shape is schematic, not a copy of your scan.
Things you could ask
“Can you show me where it is, using my report?”
“Have the lymph nodes been checked?”
“How much of my lung would treatment affect, and how will my breathing be afterwards?”
Take it home
Ask for a picture sheet with the views you discussed, your team’s explanation, questions to ask and where to find help. A QR code reopens the same model settings on your phone. Names, notes and contact details are never included in that code or saved online.
For clinicians
Start with orientation
The explorer adds lungs with their lobes, the trachea and bronchi, heart, diaphragm, ribs, spine and hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes to the shared body, renderer and labels from the rectal explorer. It opens at normal anatomy with no tumour or treatment. Whole body, Chest and Lung change the camera in one continuous scene.
Set up from the report
| Control | What to set |
|---|---|
| Tumour on the model | Add one tumour. Changing a tumour setting also adds it. |
| Lung and lobe | Right upper, middle or lower lobe; left upper lobe, lingula or left lower lobe. The lobes offered follow the side. |
| Position in the lobe | Central (near the main airways), middle or peripheral (near the pleura), as described in the report. Segments are not modelled. |
| Longest diameter | 3–100 mm, with matching numeric input and slider. |
| Lymph nodes reported abnormal | None, hilar (N1-type position) or hilar and mediastinal (N2-type position), shown in purple. The model does not stage or count nodes. |
Explain a selected plan
Wedge resection or segmentectomy, lobectomy and pneumonectomy colour the tissue removed teal; After surgery leaves it out. SABR shows the area treated. The team selects the plan. Systemic treatments, conventional radiotherapy, nodal dissection and sleeve resections are not modelled.
Picture sheet and QR code
Capture up to four views with Snapshot, then use Picture sheet (PDF). The sheet can include a help and support page. The QR link stores validated model settings only, with no names, notes or contact details. Changing any model setting clears older snapshots.
Limits
- One tumour is illustrated. More than one tumour, pleural effusion, invasion of the chest wall or mediastinum and distant spread are not shown.
- The lungs, fissures and lymph node positions are schematic.
Sources and review
Practising thoracic surgeon and oncologist review is still needed for clinical teaching use. Please send corrections through feedback.