A new thoracic clinic opened at Providence Medford Medical Center in June to help patients receive faster medical intervention for lung cancer. The clinic is designed to reduce the patient's wait time from the initital suspicious finding to medical treatment. Previously, patients waited four to six weeks, now a clinic visit can be scheduled within four to six business days.
Patients are referred to the clinic by their primary physician. During their clinic appointment, patients will receive prompt diagnostic work-up and staging of their cancer, access to cancer specialists and education, and treatment options including thoracic surgery.
In addition to Providence, participating providers of the thoracic clinic include Radiation Oncology Consultants, Hematology Oncology Associates and Pulmonary Associates. Each year there are approximately 200 diagnosed cases of lung cancer in southern Oregon.
