A non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis is never easy. But you don't have to face it alone. Our team of lung cancer experts has decades of experience helping people navigate this diagnosis. Through treatments tailored to your DNA and nurse navigators that help you overcome challenges, we make sure every moment counts.
Non-small cell lung cancer treatment
We offer the full range of standard treatments for non-small cell lung cancer, along with newer treatments through clinical trials. Some are administered alone or in combination with other therapies. Treatment may include:
- Watchful waiting: Watchful waiting, or expectant management, means doctors closely watch your condition. They do not give any treatment until symptoms appear or change. This approach is taken in certain rare cases of non-small cell lung cancer.
- Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy uses powerful drugs to shrink and prevent the growth of cancer cells. These drugs are matched to each tumor after genetic tests. Our experts developed a simple blood test, called liquid biopsy, that can collect this information. Targeted therapies for lung cancer are usually taken in pill form.
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells by removing them or stopping them from dividing.
- Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy, also known as biotherapy or biologic immunotherapy, uses your own immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy drugs boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy removes cancer cells with intense energy. Our treatment options include proton therapy (a precise form of radiation) and stereotactic radiotherapy. Our doctors were among the first to bring stereotactic radiotherapy to the southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey area.
- Surgery: We have developed new surgical procedures to treat previously inoperable lung cancers. Our surgeons help you evaluate the risks and benefits of all our options, including advanced lung-sparing and minimally invasive procedures.
Bill and Ralph's lung cancer journey
Married in 2013, Florida residents Bill Cain and Ralph Madden shared an active life together. But when routine screenings revealed both had lung cancer, serendipity brought them 1,000 miles away to Penn Medicine. "From top to bottom, our experience at Penn Medicine was wonderful—and worth every mile in the air and on the road." Read Bill and Ralph's lung cancer story.
Clinical trials
We are studying new combinations of treatments in clinical trials. Clinical trials help improve current treatments and develop new ones. We have clinical trials available for almost every patient who wants to participate.
Why choose Penn Medicine for non-small cell lung cancer care
Our lung cancer team includes nurse navigators with special expertise in non-small cell lung cancer. This training helps them anticipate your needs, getting you the right care and support fast. We also provide:
- Expert care close to home: Our intake system makes sure you receive care from lung cancer experts located close to you. Using your zip code, we make sure you’re able to get the care you need where it's most convenient, including chemotherapy, radiation, and postoperative appointments.
- Experience: As a high-volume cancer center, we see more lung cancer patients than any other hospital in the southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey region. We use this experience to provide you with safe, effective care. Research shows that treatment at high-volume centers leads to better outcomes for lung cancer patients.
- Coordinated care: Our lung cancer specialists have regular formal and informal meetings about your care. These meetings mean that the entire team weighs in on treatment decisions. They can also quickly adjust your treatment plan if there's an issue or you would benefit from a different treatment.
- Personalized treatments: Our pulmonary pathologists perform genetic tests on tumors. These tests identify changes in tumor DNA (molecular targets) that make it grow uncontrollably. If you have a molecular target, we can match the right targeted molecular therapy to the specific cancer.
Rated “exceptional” by The National Cancer Institute
Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center is a world leader in cancer research, patient care, and education. Our status as a national leader in cancer care is reflected in our continuous designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 1973, one of 7 such centers in the United States. The ACC is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, one of a select few cancer centers in the U.S., that are working to promote equitable access to high-quality, advanced cancer care.
Related specialties
Patient stories
ECMO saves recovering cancer survivor from lung failure
From cancer survivor to lung failure, Joey Porch’s journey took a miraculous turn with the help of the Penn Lung Rescue team
Home ventilation for respiratory failure: Jacquie’s story
Jacquie Eubanks never suspected respiratory failure could be causing her shortness of breath. Home breathing treatment helps her live a fulfilling life.
Home-assisted ventilation for autoimmune disease: Kim’s story
A rare autoimmune disease kept Kim Day from his favorite outdoor hobbies, until he met doctors in the Fishman Program for Home Assisted Ventilation.
Home-assisted ventilation for ALS: Stacy’s story
When Stacy Lewin, MD, started experiencing symptoms of ALS, she turned to the Penn Medicine Fishman Program for Home Assisted Ventilation.
Jamil Rivers leads women of color to better breast cancer care
Jamil Rivers is a full-time working mom, living with metastatic breast cancer, and leading an initiative to help other women of color navigate cancer care.
A community hospital is a destination for cancer care
At Lancaster General Health, receiving advanced treatments closer to home has changed the battle with cancer for patients across central Pennsylvania.
New lungs, a new liver, and a new lease on life
Decades after a childhood diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, Donald traveled across the world to find transplant care he could trust at Penn Medicine.
In the face of skin cancer, proton made all the difference
A Lancaster man and father of two reveals how proton therapy helped him beat skin cancer and reclaim his life.
Trials aim to make cancer relapse a thing of the past
“The thought is always in the back of your head: Is it lurking? Will it come back?” Clinical trials are testing methods to stop cancer from recurring.
My experience with home-assisted ventilation
Struggling with spinal muscular atrophy, Viola Dwyer found compassionate support at Penn Medicine—fueling her mission to help others live fully.