Respiratory Muscle Training Before Surgery in Preventing Lung Complications in Patients With Stage I-IIIB Lung Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Assess the impact of a short-duration respiratory muscle training (RMT) program on respiratory muscle strength in patients undergoing resection for lung cancer. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the extent of diaphragm atrophy and catabolic/anabolic pathway activation between RMT responders and non-responders evaluated for gene expression and candidate and candidate causative protein levels. II. Determine the effect of the short-duration RMT program on health related quality-of-life measures. III. Assess the impact of the short-duration RMT program on postoperative outcomes. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the financial sustainability of a transitional home-based prehabilitation program targeting respiratory muscle weakness prior to lung resection. II. Analysis of molecular markers to correlate with patient outcome and potentially differentiate responders from non-responders. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I (USUAL CARE): Patients receive usual care consisting of physical therapy once weekly, receiving pre-surgical information, instruction on the use of a spirometer device, and wearing a Fitbit to track activity. Patients then undergo video-assisted thoracic surgery or laparoscopic surgery. Patients continue to track activity using the Fitbit for 3 months post-surgery. ARM II (RMT + USUAL CARE): Patients use a power lung device to complete 3 sets of 15 RMT exercises over 30 minutes 6 days per week over 2-4 weeks for a minimum of 12 sessions prior to surgery. Patients also receive usual care consisting of physical therapy once weekly, receiving pre-surgical information, instruction on the use of a spirometer device, and wearing a Fitbit to track activity. Patients then undergo video-assisted thoracic surgery or laparoscopic surgery. Patients continue to track activity using the Fitbit for 3 months post-surgery. After completion of study, patients are followed up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.