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CPMC Lung and Thoracic Cancer Services

Dedicated lung cancer experts at CPMC's Cancer Center will mount a focused, coordinated attack on your lung cancer with our most powerful tools: advanced diagnostic imaging and treatment technology, skilled surgeons, and groundbreaking advances in medical oncology. Early detection is important, and now people at high risk are eligible for lung cancer screening.

Doctor and patient discussion

Featured Services

  • Cancer Support Groups
  • Genetic Testing and Counseling
  • Immunotherapy
  • Lung and Thoracic Support Services
  • Nurse Navigator Program
  • Pain Management and Palliative Care
  • Survivorship Programs
  • Targeted Therapy

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Lung and Thoracic Cancer within the Sutter Health network

The Sutter Health network has doctors and services in more than 100 California cities.

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    When Lung Cancer Is Suspected

    Lung cancer is the second most common cancer (PDF) and the leading cause of death by cancer. The earlier your disease is found, the better your odds of a complete recovery. If you smoke, get help with our smoking cessation program through Sutter Walk-In Care. Sutter Health is also saving lives with a new lung cancer screening program for smokers and former smokers of high risk. Contact CPMC’s Cancer Center at (888) 637-2762 to schedule a screening.

    If your doctor suspects you may have lung cancer due to an abnormal chest X-ray or sputum test, we will waste no time in diagnosing and treating your disease, providing the support you need to focus on the cure. Suspicious findings are evaluated by care teams who participate in multidisciplinary tumor boards and lung nodule programs.

    Chest xray

    Diagnosis

    Lung cancer specialists use a variety of tools to diagnose the disease.

    • Imaging — Your primary care doctor may identify your cancer on a chest X-ray, then order a thoracic CT scan. A PET scan or a new procedure called endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) may be ordered to assess whether disease has spread to other parts of your body. If esophageal cancer is suspected, your physician may call for a bronchoscopy or a barium swallow, an X-ray procedure involving a chalky drink that highlights any abnormalities in the surface of the esophagus.
    • Biopsy — A doctor will remove and study a small amount of cells from the tumor, the lining of the lung, a lymph node, or fluid that gathers in the lung or chest cavity and have them evaluated in a post-biopsy tumor typing. Doctors in the Sutter Health network use a variety of minimally invasive methods to remove the cells, including fine-needle biopsy, bronchoscopy, bronchial or esophageal endoscopic ultrasound, mediastinoscopy or mediastinotomy (which provides access to the lungs and lymph nodes), and thoracentesis. A surgical biopsy, or thoracoscopy, may be necessary in some cases.

    Treating Lung and Other Thoracic Cancers

    To achieve the best results in treating lung cancer, your doctors may use a combination of the following tools:

    • Surgery — Thoracic surgeons are skilled in partial and total lung removal, using state-of-the art techniques that include radiosurgery. Beyond traditional surgery, surgeons have a variety of minimally invasive options to treat tumors in and near the lungs, including the Sugarbaker Procedure for peritoneal mesothelioma patients. Using video-assisted thorocoscopic (VAT) surgery, your surgeon can remove a tumor or lung lobe through a small hole in the chest. If surgery is not an option, the tumor can be attacked using heat (radiofrequency ablation), cold (cryosurgery), or electricity (electrocoagulation), administered through a probe or needle.
    • Medical Oncology — Your oncologist will select from a wide range of chemotherapy drugs as well as newer targeted therapies that have been developed to attack the unique ways that cancer cells and tumors grow. Biological therapies, or immunotherapies, may be used to aid your body’s immune system in fighting the disease.
    • Radiation Therapy — High-energy radiation beams that destroy cancer cells can be shaped to the dimensions of your tumor (IMRT and 3-D conformal therapy).
    • Pain Management and Palliative Care — Specialists in pain management and hospice care will see to your comfort.

    Clinical Perspectives

    Doctor studying DNA

    A Cure for Every Cancer

    Cancer is a mighty foe, well deserving of the federal government’s latest strategic move to neutralize the disease—the Precision Medicine Initiative. Hundreds of millions of dollars in funding will flow to the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute to research the genetic makeup of cancer cells and match treatments to individual patients.

    Urinary Tract Cancer Research

    Sutter Health Urinary Tract Cancer Research

    Sutter Health Urinary Tract Cancer Research Sutter Health Urinary Tract Cancer Research

    Doctors at California Pacific Medical Center

    The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
    Jeffrey A. Sternberg, M.D.

    Jeffrey A. Sternberg, M.D.

    • Cancer Surgery

    John M. Rabkin, M.D.

    John M. Rabkin, M.D.

    • Cancer Surgery

    Assad A. Hassoun, M.D., FACS

    Assad A. Hassoun, M.D., FACS

    • Cancer Surgery

    Vincent A. Gaudiani, M.D.

    Vincent A. Gaudiani, M.D.

    • Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery

    Anne G. Peled, M.D.

    Anne G. Peled, M.D.

    • Cancer Surgery

    Robert W. Weber, M.D.

    Robert W. Weber, M.D.

    • Medical Oncology

    G. James Avery, II, M.D.

    G. James Avery, II, M.D.

    • Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery

    Susan Lee Char, M.D.

    Susan Lee Char, M.D.

    • Cancer Surgery

    Tomomi Oka, M.D.

    Tomomi Oka, M.D.

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery

    • Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

    View All Related Doctors

    Services Near You

    CPMC Imaging, Mission Bernal Campus | 3555 Cesar Chavez Street

    CPMC Imaging, Mission Bernal Campus | 3555 Cesar Chavez Street

    3555 Cesar Chavez Street

    Suite 260

    San Francisco, CA 94110

    (415) 641-6545

    CPMC Pacific Heights Outpatient Center | 2333 Buchanan Street

    CPMC Pacific Heights Outpatient Center | 2333 Buchanan Street

    2333 Buchanan Street

    San Francisco, CA 94115

    (415) 600-6000

    CPMC Cancer Center, Pacific Campus | 2351 Clay Street

    CPMC Cancer Center, Pacific Campus | 2351 Clay Street

    2351 Clay Street

    Suite 134

    San Francisco, CA 94115

    (415) 600-3073

    CPMC Radiation Oncology, Pacific Campus | 2333 Buchanan Street

    CPMC Radiation Oncology, Pacific Campus | 2333 Buchanan Street

    2333 Buchanan Street

    Level B

    San Francisco, CA 94115

    (415) 600-3600

    View All Related Locations

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