Frequently Asked Questions about Lung Cancer
In recognition of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Massachusetts General Hospital physicians answer common questions related to lung cancer.
About Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, MD
Dr. Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang is a thoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. He received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Harvard College and his medical degree at Harvard Medical School. He completed his general surgery residency at Duke and cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Stanford.
Dr. Yang practices all aspects of thoracic surgery, including procedures for conditions of the lung and mediastinum. He specializes in minimally invasive techniques. Dr. Yang has received numerous awards, including recognition for exceptional accomplishment in both clinical care and in teaching. In 2021, he received the Harvard Medical School Charles McCabe Faculty Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Yang performs clinical research and is co-principal investigator and project leader of a NIH R01-funded study evaluating postoperative complications and recovery in cardiothoracic patients. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Alliance Thoracic Surgery Group. Dr. Yang has been the lead or senior author on several high impact papers published in the British Medical Journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Annals of Surgery, and Chest. He has written over 120 publications, including over 60 as first-, co-first or senior author. Dr. Yang is an editorial board member of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic Diseases, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Online Curriculum. He is also an associate editor for Pearson’s General Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Yang is focused on raising awareness of lung cancer screening. He started the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which has worked with communities across 50 states to highlight the importance of lung screening. Since 2020, he has worked on resolutions, S. Res. 780, 462, 863, and 512 to raise awareness for lung cancer and lung cancer screening; these resolutions were passed in the U.S. Senate, by unanimous support from all 100 U.S. Senators. In 2021, he received the Harvard Medical School Dean's Community Service Faculty Award in recognition of his efforts.
When Dr. Yang is not at Mass General, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Phoebe, two daughters and his dog.
Clinical Interests:
- Chest wall tumors & reconstruction
- Esophageal cancer
- Lung cancer
- Lung nodules and ground glass opacities
- Mesothelioma
- Sarcomas
- Thymoma
- VATS / Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery
Treats:
- Adult
Locations
Mass General Surgery: Thoracic Surgery
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-2100
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital
789 Central Ave.
Dover, NH 03820
Phone: 603-742-5252
Medical Education
- MD, Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts)
- Residency, Duke University Medical Center
- Fellowship, Stanford University Hospital
- Fellowship, Toronto General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Surgery, General, American Board of Surgery
- Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid CT
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicare
- Multiplan
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- Unicare
- United Health Care
- WellSense
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Publications
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Potter AL, Rosenstein AL, Kiang MV, Shah S, Gaissert H, Chang DC, Fintelmann FJ, Yang CJ. The Association of Computed Tomography Screening with Lung Cancer Stage Shift and Survival in the United States: A Quasi-experimental Study. British Medical Journal 2022. [Epub ahead of print].
Deng JZ, Chan JS, Potter AL, Chen YW, Sandhu HS, Panda N, Chang DC, Yang CJ. The Risk of Postoperative Complications following Major Elective Surgery in Active or Resolved COVID-19 in the United States. Annals of Surgery 2022. 275(2):242-246.
Mayne NR, Elser H, Darling AJ, Raman V, Liou D, Colson YL, D?Amico TA, Yang CJ. Estimating the Impact of Extended Delay to Surgery for Stage I Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer on Survival. Annals of Surgery 2021. 273(5): 850-857.
Kumar A, Kumar S, Gilja S, Potter AL, Raman V, Muniappan A, Liou DZ, Yang CJ. Reconsidering the American Joint Committee on Cancer Eighth Edition TNM Staging Manual Classifications for T2b and T3 NSCLC. Journal of Thoracic Oncology 2021; 16(10):1672-1683. PMID: 34242788.
Mayne NR, Lin BK, Darling AJ, Raman V, Patel D, Liou D, D?Amico TA, Yang CJ. Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy versus Delayed Surgery for Early Stage Non-small-cell Lung Cancer. Annals of Surgery 2020. 272(6):925-929.
Yang CJ et al. A National Analysis of Long-term Survival Following Thoracoscopic versus Open Lobectomy for Stage I Non-small-cell Lung Cancer. Annals of Surgery 2019. 269 (1):163-171.
Yang CJ et al. Impact of Timing of Lobectomy on Survival for Clinical Stage IA Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Chest 2017. 152(6):1239-1250.
Yang CJ et al. Role of Adjuvant Therapy in a Population-Based Cohort of Patients With Early-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016, 34(10):1057-64.