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The Comprehensive Lung Cancer Program at Stony Brook University Cancer Center Brings Individualized, Multidisciplinary Care to Every Case BY THOMAS CROCKER AF TER DECADES OF PROVIDING LE ADING-EDGE LUNG CANCER CARE TO LONG ISL ANDERS, THE COMPREHENSIVE LUNG CANCER PROGR AM AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSIT Y CANCER CENTER CONTINUES TO GROW AND INNOVATE IN LINE WITH ONE OF ITS GUIDING PRINCIPLES — A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO E VERY PATIENT'S CARE. LUNG CANCER ACCOUNTS for nearly 25% of all cancer deaths, claiming more lives tha n a ny other form of ca ncer, according to the American Cancer Society. Cases and deaths are declining, but lung cancer's continued prevalence, virulence and complexity practically mandate mul- tidisciplinary care. That is an approach at which the comprehensive Lung Cancer Program excels, in large part because of its centerpiece, the Lung Cancer Evaluation Center. This multispecialty center pro- vides patients with a single destination for diagnostic testing and treatment planning by a diverse team of experts that meets weekly to review complex cases. "The Lung Cancer Program features experts in all of the facets of care that comprise the total package of lung cancer ser vices," says A llison McLarty, MD, Director of the Lung Cancer Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. "This includes an interventional pulmonologist, surgeons, nurse practitioners, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and radiologists. Severa l of our tea m's inter ventiona l radiologists are experts at diagnosing lung cancer and treating it with a novel form of therapy, cryotherapy, when appropriate. Our team also includes dedicated lung cancer pathologists who help us analyze tissues we remove via biopsy or resection. Ours is a sizable multidisciplinary group, and each subgroup of experts in its own sphere has a high-volume practice in lung cancer." The multidisciplinary team diagnoses and treats many types of lung cancer, including non-sma ll-cell a nd sma ll- cell lung cancers, as well as pulmonary neuroendocrine and pulmonary carci- noid tumors. A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION A lung cancer surgeon who completed a research fellowship and a cardiothoracic Allison McLarty, MD, Director of the Lung Cancer Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, and Stony Brook Cancer Center hematologist/oncologist Roger Keresztes, MD, who specializes in lung cancer, confer with a patient. 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R F E A T U R E