"Fred Hutch Cancer Center" "Cures Start Here"

Guang-Shing Cheng, MD

Provider

Guang-Shing Cheng, MD

Physician, Fred Hutch
Associate Professor, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
Associate Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine

Specialty:

Pulmonology

Request an Appointment Print

“My hope is that we can eliminate the incidence and severity of cancer treatment-related lung problems. No one should have to live every day feeling like they can’t breathe.”

— Dr. Cheng

What drives your interest in cancer care and pulmonary disease?

One of the first patients I cared for at Fred Hutch was a women in her early twenties who’d had a blood stem cell transplant. The procedure cured her leukemia, but she went on to develop bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). It’s a rare post-transplant complication that causes scar tissue to build up in the lungs, narrowing or blocking the airway. This condition kept her from going to nursing school, and although she beat the odds — living with BOS for 16 years — it eventually took her life. To go through an intense, lifesaving procedure like a transplant only to die of a lung disease is devastating. There’s a lot of potential benefit in figuring out how problems like BOS develop; my hope is that we can eliminate the incidence and severity of BOS and other cancer treatment-related lung problems. No one should have to live every day feeling like they can’t breathe.

How do you help patients?

Fred Hutch is unique in that it’s one of the few places in the country with a group like mine: pulmonologists who exclusively see patients with cancer. I work with people who have all types of disease, from melanoma to lung cancer to leukemias. A large part of my clinical practice is caring for patients experiencing respiratory problems after a blood stem cell transplant. It can be really frustrating for someone to bounce back from such a rigorous procedure and then all of a sudden have difficulty breathing. I think it’s important to share the facts — what we know and what we don’t know — and offer hope. Many people live quite well for decades with some level of lung dysfunction, and we are starting to recognize post-transplant complications like BOS earlier and earlier. I collaborate closely with the Long-term Follow-up Program team, infectious disease experts, oncologists and other specialists to help address lung-related issues.

Provider Background

Area of Clinical Practice
High risk prevention, respiratory problems from cancer and treatment, lung cancer early detection

I am a pulmonary critical care specialist who treats patients with respiratory problems related to cancer or cancer treatment. At Fred Hutch, I serve as the medical director of the pulmonary outpatient consult service and I provide care through the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic. I am also an attending physician in the intensive care unit at UW Medical Center-Montlake.

My research is focused on improving outcomes for patients who experience lung complications following a stem cell transplant. A primary area of interest is bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS); my goal is to improve the prevention and early detection of this disease. I am also involved in multicenter national trials testing new treatments for BOS and other transplant-related lung conditions. My publications include several scientific, peer-reviewed articles about BOS and book chapters about pulmonary disease.

Diseases Treated

Languages

Chinese (Mandarin)
English

Education, Experience and Certifications

Undergraduate Degree
Harvard University

Medical Degree
University of California, San Francisco

Residency
Yale University School of Medicine, Internal Medicine

Fellowship
Yale University School of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Board Certification
Critical Care Medicine, 2009; Pulmonary Disease, 2007; Internal Medicine, 2005, American Board of Internal Medicine

Other
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Awards

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Ali Al-Johani Award
Dr. Cheng received the 2020 Ali Al-Johani Award, which recognizes excellence in patient care.

Stories

All news

How COVID-19 has opened science

How COVID-19 has opened science An urgent search for answers promotes a faster, freer exchange of ideas September 15, 2020

Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng receives Dr. Ali Al-Johani Award for exceptional patient care

Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng receives Dr. Ali Al-Johani Award for exceptional patient care Pulmonologist’s work honored as ‘invaluable to transplant patients’ February 4, 2020

Earlier detection for a deadly lung disease

Earlier detection for a deadly lung disease 'To have your life-threatening cancer cured, and then to die of not being able to breathe? It’s devastating.' March 25, 2019

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch physicians. Many of these trials at Fred Hutch have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your physician can decide if a study is right for you.

Find a Clinical Trial Led by Dr. Cheng

Many of our Fred Hutch physicians conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by other physicians and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch physician has written.

View Dr. Cheng's Publications

Your Care Team

At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes physicians, a patient care coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like registered dietitians, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders.

Meet Other Providers

Insurance

Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.

More About Insurance