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Pictured: Jamie Chaft

Jamie E. Chaft, MD

Thoracic Medical Oncologist

4.9 | 292 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Lung cancer
  • Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

My Specialties

  • Clinical trials
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Dr. Chaft's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with lung cancer. 

I am part of a team of physicians from multiple disciplines — including thoracic surgery, radiation oncology, pathology, ​pulmonology, and interventional radiology — who meet weekly and collaborate to determine the optimal treatment plan for our patients. As part of our suite of treatment options, my colleagues and I run and participate in a multitude of clinical trials, all of which are available to patients who qualify and wish to participate. These trials range from therapeutic trials evaluating new treatment approaches to translational trials that help us learn more about lung cancer.

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In the clinic, my team and I focus on personalizing our care for each patient not only to his or her type of cancer and its genetics but to the patient’s personal circumstances, beliefs, and wishes.  We consider a patient’s disease characteristics and biological characteristics in light of the priorities of each patient and his or her family, and discuss treatment options — including clinical trial opportunities when appropriate — to provide the best care for our patients as we work with them to fight their cancer.

While I care for patients with all types and stages of lung cancer, my research focuses on the use of multimodality therapies (such as chemotherapy​, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy plus radiation or surgery) to improve cure rates in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering, I am a lead investigator on all trials evaluating multimodality treatment for non-small cell lung cancers. These trials focus on developing new treatment regimens by finding different applications for standard drugs or testing new therapeutic agents with surgery and/or radiation. Additionally, I conduct research to identify biomarkers that are unique to a patient or his or her cancer. These biomarkers can be used to preferentially select a drug treatment regimen that is likely to be more effective against that individual’s lung cancer. Discovering such biomarkers will allow us to optimize the use of available therapies to maximize the benefit of anticancer treatments while minimizing the patient’s exposure to side effects of less-active treatments. This is a promising and active research niche in the area of personalized medicine where we aim to improve the outcomes and quality of life of patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

What I Do at MSK

A thoracic medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in thoracic (thor-A-sik) cancers. These are cancers that have to do with the chest, including lung, tracheal (windpipe), and thymic (thymus) cancers.

  • Attending Physician
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Lung cancer
  • Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

My Specialties

  • Clinical trials
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, New York University School of Medicine

Residencies

  • NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Fellowships

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine
  • Medical Oncology

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
  • Castle Connolly: Exceptional Women in Medicine (2024)
  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Exceptional Women in Medicine Award, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Contact and Location

Dr. Chaft sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Middletown, NJ
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
530 East 74th Street New York NY 10021
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
480 Red Hill Road Middletown NJ 07748
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Thoracic Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Chaft’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.9 292 reviews

  • 4.8 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.9 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.9 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.9 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Mar 18, 2025

My experience with Dr. Schaft was perfect. I was treated with utmost respect, courtesy, and professionalism. Her experience, her knowledge was evident in her discussions with me. She explained things in a way I could understand. She answered our questions in a way that was courteous and genuine. You could tell she is a very good doctor and I am so thankful to be with her. Here goes to beating cancer. Thank you, Dr. Schaft. I look forward to our next experience. Again, Dr. Schaft was excellent. Thank you, [patient name removed].

Mar 18, 2025

I really liked her. She listened and responded even when I asked about the same thing twice. I trust her.

Mar 7, 2025

My experience with MSK has always been to my satisfaction.

Mar 5, 2025

Dr. Chaft is a wonderful provider. She really, I have a great deal of confidence in her. She explains things clearly. She picks up on everything. She's so smart and caring, and anybody would be lucky to have her for their doctor.

Feb 28, 2025

Dr. Chaft is a wonderful doctor. She always makes a very difficult situation as pleasant as possible. I feel very confident in her care. Alexa, her nurse is also wonderful. She is always warm and easy to talk to, making my time at MSK a good experience, under the challenging circumstances.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Jamie E. Chaft discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • AstraZeneca
    Professional Services and Activities
  • i3 Health
    Professional Services and Activities
  • IDEOlogy Health, LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Imedex, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Medscape
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Merck Sharp & Dohme Ireland (Human Health) Ltd
    Professional Services and Activities
  • MJH Associates
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Peer Education Limited
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Practice Point Communications, LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • PRIME Education LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Research to Practice
    Professional Services and Activities
  • UptoDate
    Professional Services and Activities
  • WC Communications, LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • WebMD
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


View all disclosures