Published on Jun. 10, 2026
Health educator Matt Fischer never expected a lingering cough would change his life. When weight loss and blood-tinged mucus followed, he finally went to the Emergency Department at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center, where rapid testing revealed pneumonia and a rare, aggressive lung cancer.
Samarjit Singh, M.D., pulmonologist, Orange Coast Medical Center, coordinated care across imaging, surgery, oncology and nursing, stabilizing the infection before confirming a high-grade spindle cell malignancy.
“It was not routine lung cancer,” Dr. Singh said. “But once we controlled the pneumonia, we could move quickly.”
A multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Program at the MemorialCare Cancer Institute brought together medical director and cardiothoracic surgeon Tuan Lam, M.D., medical oncologist Gurpreet Multani, M.D., and nurse navigators who guided every step of Matt’s journey. In August 2025, Fischer underwent a left upper lobectomy, followed by four cycles of chemotherapy. The team uses close follow-up imaging to continue monitoring his recovery.
During treatment, Matt returned with chest pain caused by a pleural effusion. Because his records and team were already connected, evaluation and relief came quickly. “They made everything seamless,” Matt said.
Today, Matt is back to teaching and gets surveillance CT scans every three months. While his specific lung cancer wasn’t attributed to his social smoking, he has quit completely. He now encourages people at higher risk to take advantage of lung cancer screenings and to pay attention to early warning signs.