​​​​​Lung cancer treatment at The Christ Hospital Health Network

If you are diagnosed with lung cancer, you probably have many concerns—and just as many questions. You're likely wondering if your cancer is curable, and what your options are. You may be nervous about the side effects of treatment. And you may have questions about medical bills and insurance coverage.

At The Christ Hospital Health Network, we understand that facing cancer can feel overwhelming. But you can rest assured knowing our lung cancer care team will guide and support you every step of the way.

Our team includes pulmonologists, medical oncologists, thoracic surgeons and radiation oncologists. Together they create an effective and efficient treatment plan that meets your needs.

Your plan will address the type of lung cancer you have (small cell lung cancer or non-small cell lung cancer). Your treatment therapies will also depend on how far your cancer has spread.

State-of-the-art treatment options for lung cancer

We offer some of the most advanced medical, surgical and radiation treatments available.

These include:

• Chemotherapy—drugs that kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

• Immunotherapy—drugs that help your immune system recognize and kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy is one of the newest weapons in the fight against lung cancer. It treats some types of non-small cell lung cancer.

• Targeted therapies—drugs that target specific tumor cells to make sure they do not grow or spread. Our doctors perform genetic testing of tumors to see whether patients are eligible for targeted therapy. Targeted therapies treat some types of non-small cell lung cancer.

• Radiation therapy—a treatment that uses radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Our doctors perform "external" radiation therapy (where a machine outside the body aims radiation at the tumor). We also perform "internal" radiation therapy. This includes placing tiny capsules of radioactive material near or directly into a tumor.

• Radiosurgery—a targeted form of radiation therapy. Radiosurgery treats difficult tumors in fewer treatment sessions. This includes tumors that can move during treatment (for example, during breathing).

• Surgery— a treatment to remove a portion of a lung or an entire lung. Our thoracic surgeons use minimally invasive procedures that reduce complications and recovery time. For example, our surgeons may be able to remove tumors using navigational bronchoscopy, video-assisted thorascopy and robotic surgery instead of open surgery. Surgeons also perform the full range of conventional surgical procedures. These include lobectomy (removing a single lobe from a lung) or pneumonectomy (removing an entire lung).