Lung Nodule Center

The Lung Nodule Center at the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center provides patients with comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and expedited evaluation of lung nodules.

Lung cancer is often first discovered as a lung nodule found on a chest X-ray or CT scan. However, not all formation of lung nodules are due to lung cancer. Cases will be reviewed by a team of multi-disciplinary experts from pulmonary medicine, thoracic and interventional radiology and thoracic surgery to determine the most direct, least invasive approach to diagnosing and treating lung nodules.

All care, starting from the first visit, is managed and coordinated by an experienced nurse navigator who facilitates getting a diagnosis in a timely manner while helping alleviate undue anxiety.

The Lung Nodule Center is committed to providing expert, state-of-the-art care in the surveillance of lung nodules, for high-risk individuals screened for lung cancer through the Lung Cancer Screening Program. The Center is designed to eliminate or minimize delays in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients with lung nodules.

Advanced Technology, Leading to Better Outcomes

State-of-the-art technology is available at the Lung Nodule Center to assist in its mission of helping patients achieve earlier detection of lung cancer. Some of the advanced imaging technologies that the center utilizes include:

• 320 slice CT scanner - Highest resolution scans using the lowest amount of radiation. Long Beach Medical Center is one of only a few California hospitals that has this technology.
• Electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) - Guides pulmonologists through a patient’s airways using technology similar to that of a Global Positioning System (GPS) to take tissue samples from regions of the lung that were previously unreachable.
• Endobronchial ultrasounds (EBUS) - Allows physicians to sample central lung masses and lymph nodes with the help of ultrasound guidance to establish a lung cancer diagnosis or the stage of the disease.

Other procedures and diagnostic studies used to evaluate lung nodules or stage lung cancer, if diagnosed, include CT-guided needle lung biopsy, mediastinoscopy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), minimally invasive robotic surgery and PET-CT.

Multi-Disciplinary Care Team

The Lung Nodule Center care team consists of physician experts from multiple disciplines and a thoracic nurse navigator, who will guide you through the evaluation and treatment process after the discovery of a lung nodule or mass.

The multi-disciplinary team of experts, which include pathologists, radiologists, pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and genetic experts, formulate an individualized diagnosis and/or treatment plan for each patient.

The goal of this multi-disciplinary approach is to achieve seamless clinical care, access to the latest therapies, faster translation of research discoveries into clinical practice, and increase patient satisfaction.

For questions or to learn more contact:

Debbie Oates
Lung Nurse Navigator
(562) 933-9506