Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore recently revisited her lung cancer diagnosis after she appeared on Soha Ali Khan's podcast All About Her with Saba Ali Khan. While Saba opened up about her brain tumour, they also discussed Sharmila's lung cancer which was diagnosed at stage zero. The 81-year-old veteran actor insisted on undergoing surgery despite being diagnosed at stage zero lung cancer. She said that many believed that the procedure might not be necessary. Soha revealed that doctors confirmed that the tissue was malignant during surgery and were able to remove it completely. Sharmila Tagore did not need chemotherapy after the surgery, according to Soha. In a chat with Nayandeep Rakshit, Soha shared that her mother did not need chemotherapy. "With my mother, she was one of the very few people to be diagnosed with lung cancer at stage zero. No chemotherapy, nothing. It was cut out of her, and she is, touchwood, fine," she said.The actor's case brings up the question of whether surgery at the earliest stage of lung cancer can prevent the disease from progressing.What Is Stage Zero Lung Cancer?Stage zero is the earliest stage of non-small cell lung cancer, also called carcinoma in situ. At this stage, abnormal or cancerous cells are confined to the innermost lining of the airways and have not invaded deeper lung tissue or spread to lymph nodes or distant organs.Unlike more advanced lung cancers, stage zero disease is often treatable with local treatment alone. However, it can be difficult to detect because it may not cause noticeable symptoms.Also read: PET-CT in Colon Cancer: When Can It Help?Can Surgery Stop Lung Cancer From Progressing?In terms of progression, surgery can often help stage zero lung cancer, provided the abnormal tissue is completely removed and the diagnosis confirms that it has not become invasive.The objective is to remove the affected tissue before the cancerous cells penetrate deeper into the lung. Depending on the lesion's size and location, surgeons may perform a wedge resection or segmentectomy, removing a small portion of the lung. For patients whose cancer is confined to the airway lining, chemotherapy or radiation is generally not required after successful surgery, just like in Tagore's case. Treatment decisions, however, depend on the final pathology report and individual clinical findings.Also read: Left Delhi To Escape Air Pollution? Why Health Effects May Linger For A Long TimeStage Zero Lung Cancer Is Difficult To Detect Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed after it has progressed because early disease may produce fewer or no symptoms. Persistent cough, chest pain and breathlessness are not reliable early warning signs of stage zero disease.Low-dose CT screening can help detect lung abnormalities before symptoms develop, especially among people at high risk, like certain long-term smokers. However, screening recommendations depend on age and smoking history, and not every lung abnormality detected on a scan is cancer.Even though complete removal of stage zero lung cancer can offer an excellent chance of cure, it does not eliminate every future risk.Patients may need follow-up imaging and clinical assessments to monitor for recurrence or a new primary lung cancer. The risk varies depending on the original tumour, the type of treatment and individual factors.