Steve Melton
Cancer Survivor

Steve Melton has smoked cigarettes since he was 12 years old — as many as two packs a day. 
Today, he’s 70. Steve and his wife Kay live in Whitmire — enjoying time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

At the urging of his primary care physician, Steve underwent a lung cancer screening last fall. The test revealed a stage 1 cancerous tumor in his lung about the size of a grape. Steve became a patient of Dr. Davis at Lexington Radiation Oncology. 

He received four stereotactic radiation treatments over four consecutive days. Each treatment took just 20 minutes. At the end of the last treatment, the tumor was gone.

“I thank God that he gave Dr. Davis and his staff the incredible ability and intelligence to do what they do,” he said. 

Every three months, Steve will have a CT scan to make sure the mass has not returned. According to Dr. Davis, the chance of controlling a stage 1 cancer like the one Steve had with stereotactic radiation is 80 percent if he stops smoking. And the benefits don’t end there. 

“You can drive yourself to and from treatment. And it’s less invasive than a biopsy,” Dr. Davis said. 

Before stereotactic radiation, patients like Steve may have undergone surgery to remove a lobe of the lung. That type of surgery can have long-term consequences for patients such as trouble breathing. 

Steve is thankful. “It was some of the best care I’ve ever received. Dr. Davis and his team are super people,” he said.