D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD

Clinical Interest for Patients

I have been the Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical and Clinical Research Programs at CU since 2007. Thoracic Oncology encompasses predominantly lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell), mesothelioma and thymic cancers. The standard treatment for many of these cancers have undergone a revolution in the last few years, particularly in relation to the use of personalized medicine – doing a series of specific tests to look for what is ‘driving’ the cancer and then trying to tailor drug treatments to each cancer’s specific genetic ‘Achilles heel’. With multiple successes to our name, the CU program has really established itself as one of the premier sites for leading this approach. In addition, every physician in the Thoracic Oncology Program works as part of a highly functional multidisciplinary team, working very closely with all our colleagues in other relevant specialties – including thoracic surgery, radiation oncology and pulmonology – to deliver personalized medicine in a different way – developing a personal treatment plan for each patient. This approach allows us to make the optimal use of every possible modality, often pushing the envelope in terms of new developments, to maximize the chances of prolonging control or curing each person’s cancer. Beyond the medicine, I, and all members of our team, also believe we should look after every patient, and their friends and family, as we would want our own friends and family to be looked after - From the personal touch of our highly informed and highly skilled schedulers and navigators, through to the honesty and expertise of our clinic nurses and faculty. Cancer is a tough diagnosis for everyone involved – so part of our job is to make the day to day business of caring for it as positive an experience as possible.