Services

Treatment

RAS provides comprehensive treatment for patients diagnosed with lung cancer including, state-of-the-art biopsy technology, medical oncology (chemotherapy), radiation oncology and surgery.  RAS board-certified physicians, surgeons and staff work closely with each other, with you and with your primary care physician to develop a customized treatment plan specific to your needs. This integrated approach to care results in the best possible outcome.

Biopsy
RAS fellowship-trained Interventional Radiologists perform minimally-invasive core biopsies or needle aspiration biopsies in our outpatient clinics using imaging guidance with CT or ultrasound. The interventionalist uses the imaging guidance to direct the biopsy needle through the skin into the abnormal area in your body. The biopsy needle is then used to remove strips of tissue in the case of a core biopsy or cells from the area in the case of a needle aspiration biopsy. The doctor performing the biopsy will discuss the type of biopsy needed with you before your biopsy and discuss your individual risks prior to performing the procedure.

PET Imaging
Positron Emission Tomography with CT (PET-CT) may be used to determine whether a growth is malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous), to evaluate the progression of disease (often referred to as “staging”) and to assess the effects of clinical therapies such as chemotherapy.

Treatment Options
External-Beam Radiation Therapy
External beam radiation therapy is frequently used in the fight against cancer. It is a minimally invasive, relatively painless technology indicated for treatment of tumors located in many areas of the body including the lungs.  A radiation oncology treatment regimen for lung cancer usually encompasses five sessions per week for a period of several weeks. External Beam Radiation Therapy can benefit patients who prefer to avoid surgery or are not good candidates for surgery because of other conditions or the general state of their health.  It is also used to treat recurrent non-small cell lung cancer and as a palliative pain-diminishing.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) is an advanced cancer treatment technology that can be of great benefit to patients who have developed small tumors close to critical organs that are highly sensitive to radiation such as the heart or esophagus. It is particularly useful for Lung Cancer patients. SBRT focuses high dose radiation beams to a small, well-defined tumor.  Treatment is reduced to one to five sessions over approximately two weeks. Not all lung cancer patients are candidates for SBRT.  Your radiation oncologist will advise you if you meet the criteria for this treatment.

RAS performs radiation treatment on an outpatient basis. Hospitalization is not required. Many patients are able to continue with their normal routine throughout the course of their radiation therapy regimen. Radiation therapy may be prescribed in combination with surgery or chemotherapy.

Surgery
RAS’ Thoracic Surgery of Northern California division offers advanced, minimally invasive lung cancer treatment techniques, including:
• video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)
• bronchoscopy
• lobectomy
• esophagectomy
• mediastinal procedures

Chemotherapy
RAS Center for Hematology and Medical Oncology (SCHMO) provides lung cancer patients with expertise in Chemotherapy, the use of high potency medicine to kill cancer cells. The drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. Chemotherapy may be used to kill cancer that has spread beyond its point of origin, or metastasized in other parts of the body.

Biologic Therapies
Some of the newest and most promising areas of cancer treatment are biologic therapies and other so-called "targeted" therapies. A biologic therapy is a drug that is manufactured from, or otherwise similar to, substances produced by living cells, as opposed to a chemical like chemotherapy. Targeted therapies are drugs that attack cancer by "zooming in" on specific parts of cancer cells. Some of these drugs are given through IV in our infusion center and others may be taken as pills at home. Many of these types of drugs are safer and have fewer side effects than older chemotherapy drugs. Our medical oncologists will determine if you are a candidate for a treatment with these types of drugs and will explain all that is involved in administering them.

Other related procedures
• Thoracentesis (removal of fluid from the chest).
• Chest tube placement for chronic (recurrent) drainage (pleural effusions, empyemias and pneumothorax).