The Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope, Chicago, is designed to bring together a wide array of medical professionals devoted to diagnosing patients who have had test results that suggested they may have lung cancer, while also treating and assisting patients who have already been diagnosed with the disease. Our team of cancer experts, led by Medical Oncologist Bruce Gershenhorn, DO, is committed to helping you make informed decisions about the options available to treat your disease and manage the side effects that may result.
Having a team of lung cancer experts collaborating daily, all under one roof, allows us to design a detailed treatment plan tailored to your tumor type, stage, genomic markers and other needs more quickly and efficiently. In this era of precision and personalized medicine, and based on your specific needs, our lung experts look to incorporate new and emerging treatments and technologies—including genomic-based cancer care, immunotherapy and targeted drug therapy—into every aspect of your treatment plan.
As part of our commitment to providing state-of-the-art lung cancer treatment options, we offer qualifying patients an opportunity to participate in ongoing clinical trials that may offer options not otherwise available. Our Chicago Lung Cancer Center team will help you determine whether you’re a candidate for an available study and, if so, help you enroll.
Seamless coordination: Your team of lung cancer experts collaborate daily, all under one roof, conducting a clinical review of your cancer to quickly develop a detailed treatment plan designed specifically for you and your needs and diagnosis. Your care team at City of Hope Chicago will also communicate and coordinate with your doctor back home, providing seamless care before, during and after your treatment.
About 8 million Americans are considered at high risk for lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association. At the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Chicago, we offer lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans for those at high risk, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Should your lung cancer screening detect any anomalies or suspicious spots, your team of doctors and clinicians will help you understand the results and discuss diagnostic and potential treatment options with you. Lung cancer survival outcomes improve dramatically with early detection. If lung cancer is caught before it spreads, the likelihood of surviving five years or more improves to 63 percent. Our experts have the experience, training and technological tools to spot lung cancer early and, if necessary, get you started on a treatment plan in a matter of days.
Imaging tests, such as X-rays, MRIs and PET/CT scans, that helps doctors look inside your lungs to determine the exact location and size of your tumor and whether it’s spread. These tools may also be used during treatment to determine whether the regimen working or after treatment to look for signs of recurrent cancer.
Lab and blood tests, such as lung biopsies, blood tests and advanced genomic testing, allow doctors to look for abnormal cells or specific markers or gene mutations to help determine what may be driving your cancer’s growth and, when possible, identify targeted treatment options.
Equipped with precision technology like Ion by IntuitiveTM, our Lung Cancer Center experts work to diagnosis lung cancer soon, when more treatments are available.
The design of Ion, a minimally invasive, robotic-assisted tool, allows doctors to navigate the twists and turns of the lung airways and obtain biopsies from hard-to-reach places using an ultra-thin catheter with fiber-optic camera. In fact, Ion’s reach extends to small nodules in all 18 segments of the lung, a capability that may help patients get the answers they need with the urgency they deserve.
We know the stress and uncertainty that comes with news that an X-ray or CT scan has revealed an abnormal spot on your lung—and why it’s critical to learn quickly if it’s cancerous or benign. Getting a fast, accurate diagnosis is essential to your peace of mind, no matter the result, and it’s key to developing a treatment plan if a diagnosis is confirmed. The Lung Cancer Center team of cancer experts at City of Hope Chicago works quickly to provide a diagnosis and, if necessary, work with you on a treatment plan that meets your needs. Our model of care makes collaboration and communication more efficient, allowing us to condense a process that often takes much longer into less than one week. If you learn you have cancer, a medical oncologist, a thoracic surgeon, an interventional pulmonologist and, possibly, a radiation oncologist will recommend a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to your specific diagnosis and your individual needs.
Learn more about our Rapid Lung Nodule Diagnosis program in Chicago.
Our oncologists, surgeons, interventional pulmonologists and supportive care clinicians are committed to helping you understand the complexities of your disease and the array of treatment options available to you, so you can make informed decisions about your care. The experts at the City of Hope Lung Cancer Center in Chicago have combined expertise in delivering standard-of-care and advanced techniques for treating lung cancer.
Evan Pisick, MD
Chief of Medical Oncology, City of Hope Chicago
Laura Farrington, DO
Medical Oncologist
Yiping Fu, MD, FCCP
Interventional Pulmonologist and Critical Care Physician
Kumar Gaurav, MD
Interventional Pulmonologist & Critical Care Physician
Peter Baik, DO, FACOS, FACS
Thoracic Surgeon
Kevin King, MD
Radiation Oncologist, City of Hope Outpatient Care Center, Downtown Chicago
Karan Shah, MD, MBA
Radiation Oncologist and Co-Medical Director, Breast Program
Karen Smorowski, MD
Radiation Oncologist, City of Hope Chicago
Meng Gan, MD
Radiation Oncologist
Each care team at the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Chicago is led by a medical oncologist and may also include pathologists who are experienced and trained in standard-of-care and advanced tools to diagnose and stage the disease to better pinpoint the array of treatment options available to you.
Depending on your needs, your care team may also include a surgical and/or radiation oncologist, interventional pulmonologist, oncology nurses and supportive care clinicians to help you manage related side effects. The entire team works together with a “whole-person” focus, which is at the heart of our Lung Cancer Center's dedication to comprehensive, personalized care.
As part of our focus on your quality of life throughout your journey, your care team may recommend a number of evidence-based supportive therapies, such as:
"With a military background, I appreciate order and discipline. In my opinion, order brings positive results. City of Hope took care of obtaining all my past medical records and handled working with my insurance. Walking into City of Hope, it was clear to me that the place was well run. I was greeted with kindness and compassion that continued throughout my entire journey."