M.D.
Thoracic Surgeon; Vice President, Chief Health Access and Community Enrichment Officer
Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D., is a thoracic surgeon at City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte, caring for patients with lung cancer, esophageal cancer and cancers affecting the abdomen. She also serves as City of Hope’s vice president of health access and community enrichment, in which role she helps create and manage programs that pursue equity and inclusion for patients from all backgrounds.
As a surgeon, Dr. Erhunmwunsee specializes in using the latest minimally invasive techniques, including robotic-assisted surgery, to treat cancers of the chest. She believes in making treatment as safe and effective as possible, while using techniques that help patients recover faster and return to their lives more smoothly.
Board-certified in both general and thoracic surgery, Dr. Erhunmwunsee earned her medical degree at Harvard Medical School in Boston, where she graduated with honors, then completed her surgical training at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Erhunmwunsee leads grant-funded research that explores topics such as how social factors like racism and access to health care impact lung cancer risk and outcomes.
Dr. Erhunmwunsee’s dedication to patients and the broader community has been recognized by many awards. She was selected for the Carol Emmott Fellowship for women leaders in health care, named a “Champion of Health Equity” by Cancer Health magazine and honored with the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer.