At Memorial Sloan-Kettering, we are committed to improving both the survival and quality of life of persons with lung cancer.
In this section, you will find information about our experience treating patients with lung cancer, along with details on the services we offer our lung cancer patients and our related research activities.
Learning you have lung cancer can make you feel anxious and afraid. Although lung cancer is a serious condition, there are treatment options and help available.
At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, our medical experts draw on their specific area of expertise to evaluate patients, so that each person's treatment plan reflects a subspecialized yet comprehensive approach.
Our team of lung cancer experts in medical and radiation oncology, surgery, pathology, pulmonary medicine, behavioral sciences, and smoking cessation diagnose and treat patients with all types of lung cancer.
There are two major types of primary lung cancer: non-small cell and small cell. Each affects different types of cells in the lung and grows and spreads in different ways.
Smoking, or exposure to tobacco in any form, is the major risk factor for lung cancer. Nonsmokers who breathe the smoke of others, often called secondhand smoke, are also at increased risk for lung cancer. Stopping exposure to tobacco smoke at any age lowers the risk of lung cancer.
Depending on the type and stage of the disease, lung cancer can be treated using surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these treatments.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center was one of the first centers to apply a new molecular approach to cancer treatment. Our pathologists now include genetic testing as a routine part of the diagnosis and staging procedure for all men and women treated for non-small cell lung cancer.
For many years, Memorial Sloan-Kettering has been developing programs and services to help lung cancer survivors and their families manage the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of the disease.
