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John A. Howington

Bio

Phone: 1-866-730-5757

Dr. John Howington serves as the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem. As a board certified surgeon and thoracic surgeon, Dr. Howington specializes in lung cancer, minimally invasive thoracic procedures, and video-assisted throracic surgical techniques. He earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee-Memphis College of Medicine and served two residencies at the University of Missouri- Kansas City and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Howington was recently listed in U.S. News and World Reports 2011 directory of Top Doctors, in which his peers voted him in the top 1% of Thoracic Surgeons in the nation.

Activity

  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    If a non-smoking relative had lung cancer, am I at increased risk?
    If only one person in the family has developed lung cancer, that one isolated incident would not suggest that the other family members are at increased risk. However, if aunts and uncles or other siblings also develop lung cancer, then it’s likely that there is a genetic predisposition within the family. There...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    If a non-smoking relative had lung cancer, am I at increased risk?
    If only one person in the family has developed lung cancer, that one isolated incident would not suggest that the other family members are at increased risk. However, if aunts and uncles or other siblings also develop lung cancer, then it’s likely that there is a genetic predisposition within the family. There...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    If a non-smoking relative had lung cancer, should I be screened?
    If you have never smoked, we don’t really have any evidence that you would benefit from lung cancer screening. That’s not to say you shouldn’t get screened, but you ought to have a conversation with your primary care physician and realize that you’re at a much lower risk than a high-risk patient....  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    What is the treatment for a nodule detected during lung cancer screening?
    If your nodule is 5 millimeters (mm) or smaller, we know now from tens of thousands of patients there's a 99% chance that this is not cancer. You’ll need to have another scan in a year, and we will compare it to the previous scan to see if there are changes.

    To date, no 5-mm or smaller nodule that was seen...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    At what age should I get screened for lung cancer?
    This is what I tell my friends and family, because I have siblings who are in the age group and have the risk factors: Get screened for lung cancer at age 55 or older. Before the age of 55, the incidence of lung cancer is low enough that it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to get screened....  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Why don't all people over a certain age get screened for lung cancer?
    In Japan they tried to do lung cancer screening based on age, which is what we do with mammography. But with lung cancer screening, you will find only one cancer per 10,000 screenings. It just doesn’t make any sense. For high-risk individuals with higher smoking incidence over age 55, you...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Why is it difficult to detect lung cancer in its earliest stages?
    Early-stage lung cancer is a dime-sized growth in the center of the lung. The lung doesn’t have pain receptors, so you can’t feel it. Most often, a chest x-ray won’t show early-stage lung cancer. That’s why we see such a substantial benefit in CT scans for lung cancer, because if you detect...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Which lung cancer patients should have genetic testing?
    If you developed lung cancer and you had two first- degree relatives -- brother or sister, mom or dad, or aunt or uncle -- who also had lung cancer, we would refer you for genetic testing. There is ongoing research, and they’re getting closer to identifying the “lung cancer gene.” There's probably going...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Are smokers to blame for their lung cancer?
    The reality is that 50 percent of people who develop lung cancer --100,000 people each year in the United States-- quit smoking. Smoking is so addictive, and people continue to try to quit. There are newer drugs and newer treatments are getting better, but you can’t just say, “Oh, sorry, you did that to ...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    If I'm at high risk for lung cancer, how often should I get screened?
    After you have had a series of scans over a few years and they were negative, we would recommend biannual screening. It's similar to a colonoscopy; if nothing is found, you return for screening in five years, but if you have a polyp, it will be removed and then the test will be repeated in three...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Why might a CT scan be done after a lung cancer diagnosis?
    A CT scan will give us anatomic information. It will tell us the size of the tumor and where is it located in the lung. It will also tell us how close it is to central structures and whether lymph nodes are enlarged.  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Why might a PET scan be done after a lung cancer diagnosis?
    A PET scan will give us information about metabolic activity. We get a peek at the biology of the lung cancer; for example, how much more glucose is the tumor burning compared with the surrounding normal tissues? A PET scan is also more sensitive test and can identify if the cancer has spread...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    Why might I need both CT and PET scans before lung cancer treatment?
    A group of us, more than 30 physicians, got together and started a Proven care trial, looking at best practices. We agreed as a group that if we’re planning to remove a lobe of your lung, we should be fairly confident that you have early-stage cancer and are going to benefit from the surgery....  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    At what age is a person too old to need lung cancer screening?
    There is no hard and fast evidence as to at what age screening for lung cancer can end. I've told my uncles who have a history or smoking and asbestos exposure and are now over the age of 80 that they should not continue screening, since they are past the highest risk period and are unlikely to develop lung...  Full Post
  • John A. Howington
    John A. Howington of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:
    What does a lung cancer navigator do?
    When you have an abnormal finding, a lung cancer navigator will try to get you to the best place to get the best care, the quickest way possible, and to answer your questions. He or she will try to alleviate anxiety from the time that you make that first phone call until you actually get...  Full Post