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PAMF Lung and Thoracic Cancer Services

If you have lung cancer, experienced care teams at Palo Alto Medical Foundation provide focused, coordinated treatment with powerful tools: advanced diagnostic imaging, the latest in surgical oncology and groundbreaking advances in medical oncology.

Doctor and patient discussion

Featured Services

  • Cancer Support Groups
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  • Pain Management and Palliative Care
  • Surgical Oncology
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  • 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. Sutter Health is saving lives with a new lung cancer screening program for smokers and former smokers at high risk.

    If your doctor suspects you may have lung cancer due to an abnormal chest X-ray or sputum test, experts at PAMF 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 in the Sutter Health network use a variety of tools to diagnose the disease.

    • Imaging — Your primary care physician may identify your cancer on a chest X-ray, then order a thoracic CT scan. A PET scan, which images the rapid metabolism associated with cancer using an injected radiopharmaceutical, 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 physician 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 in the Sutter Health network 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 robotic lung surgeries such as wedge resections and lobectomies—revolutionary procedures only performed at a few sites in the Bay Area. 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) or placed directly in or near your tumor (brachytherapy).
    • 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.

    Rare Cancers Research

    Sutter Health Rare Cancers Research

    Sutter Health Rare Cancers Research Sutter Health Rare Cancers Research

    Doctors at Palo Alto Medical Foundation

    The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
    William T. Hart, M.D., FCCP, D, ABSM

    William T. Hart, M.D., FCCP, D, ABSM

    • Pulmonary Disease

    Apurva Marfatia, M.D.

    Apurva Marfatia, M.D.

    • Pulmonary Disease

    Maly N. Oron-Benhamou, M.D.

    Maly N. Oron-Benhamou, M.D.

    • Pulmonary Disease

    Pramod Krishnamurthy, M.D., MPH, FCCP

    Pramod Krishnamurthy, M.D., MPH, FCCP

    • Pulmonary Disease

    Daniel Schiffner, M.D.

    Daniel Schiffner, M.D.

    • Radiation Oncology

    Bryant C. Sheh, M.D.

    Bryant C. Sheh, M.D.

    • Medical Oncology

    Kim-Son Nguyen, M.D.

    Kim-Son Nguyen, M.D.

    • Medical Oncology

    Conrad M. Vial, M.D.

    Conrad M. Vial, M.D.

    • Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery

    Pei Hsuan Tsau, M.D., FACS

    Pei Hsuan Tsau, M.D., FACS

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery

    • Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

    View All Related Doctors

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    Burlingame Center

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    Building B

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