After a rigorous evaluation by The Joint Commission, City of Hope Phoenix was awarded the coveted Gold Seal of Approval for Lung Cancer Certification—an internationally recognized symbol of quality. This third-party accreditation recognizes our Lung Cancer Center’s performance in providing high-quality, safe care for patients with all stages and types of lung cancer.
Achieving this certification means our lung cancer experts have made the extra effort to review and improve key areas that affect quality and safety:
The Joint Commission, a global leader in driving quality improvement and patient safety, accredits 22,000 health care programs around the world, consulting with doctors, nurses, and quality and safety experts to review current standards and make recommendations for improvement.
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 Lung Cancer Center team will help you determine whether you’re a candidate for an available study and, if so, help you enroll.
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 Phoenix, 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. 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.
A fast and accurate diagnosis is a critical step toward developing a personalized treatment plan for your diagnosis. At the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Phoenix, our experts are trained in a variety of tools and technologies to determine the type of lung cancer, its stage and whether it’s spread to other tissues or organs. Diagnostic tools include:
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 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.
The experts at the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Phoenix are armed with an advanced diagnostic technology called Ion by Intuitive, a minimally invasive, robotic-assisted biopsy tool that helps doctors and obtain biopsies from hard-to-reach places in the lung.
With Ion’s proprietary software, doctors may be able to more accurately map a path to a lung nodule, even those on the periphery or outer branches of the lung. Ion’s ultra-thin catheter with fiber-optic camera is designed adjust to the twists and turns deep inside the lung to help doctors access nodules in most parts of the lung.
Once it’s reached its destination, the ion catheter deploys a needle designed to gather tissue samples of the lung nodule so a pathologist can examine them under a microscope. If the nodule is found to be cancerous, doctors are able to stage the disease during the procedure.
Ion is designed to help doctors safely and efficiently conduct lung biopsies on hard-to-reach nodules, which may allow them to diagnose lung cancer sooner, when more treatment options may be available.
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 Phoenix 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 weeks into just a few days. If you learn you have cancer, a medical oncologist, a thoracic surgeon 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 ProgramEach care team at the Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Phoenix 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, 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 supportive care model designed to help you stay strong during treatment, your care team may recommend a number of evidence-based supportive therapies, such as:
"Just walking into the center, I got such a positive first impression. I got a sense of hope as soon as I walked through the doors. I felt nervous excitement radiate through me. And later on, when I talked to other patients, they experienced the same feeling and sensation. Everybody's friendly, they greet you warmly, and you just feel secure. I felt like I was in the right place for me. I just had this feeling that good things were going to happen.
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