Diagnosis & Treatment
Screening & Diagnosis
You can have exams to detect cancers in their early, most curable stages, including screening tests for breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers. Genetic counseling and testing are available for people with an elevated cancer risk due to family history. If cancer is suspected, our team offers a range of exams to make an accurate diagnosis, including:
- Imaging tests such as ultrasound, MRI, CT, and X-rays. We use PET/CT scanning to stage your cancer and monitor your response to treatment.
- Blood, urine, and other laboratory tests
- Fine-needle and surgical biopsies, plus advanced interventional oncology to evaluate suspicious areas and access tissue through image-guided biopsy
- Genetic profiling and biomarker testing of some cancers to see if they can be treated with targeted therapies that zero in on the molecular changes driving cancer's growth, with these tests coordinated by our expert pathologists
How We Treat Cancer
We offer a range of treatments, including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy. We can also connect you with clinical trials assessing promising treatment approaches.
Minimally invasive cancer surgery onsite. Our state-of-the-art operating rooms accommodate the latest surgical technologies and are located in the same building as the other components of the cancer program. Whenever possible, our cancer surgeons operate through small incisions, resulting in less discomfort after surgery and enabling you to return to your usual activity level sooner. Most of these procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis, and some are completed using robotic-assisted surgery. If you need a more extensive operation, our surgeons have the expertise to perform those procedures as well.
Medical treatments. Our certified oncology nurses provide infusions in our outpatient Infusion Center, featuring private areas and a quiet, comfortable environment. If chemotherapy is part of your treatment, you will receive the drugs that are most effective for treating your cancer, including new targeted drugs based on the features of your tumor.
We also offer the latest immunotherapies — treatments that harness the power of your own body's immune system to fight cancer. In addition to chemotherapy, we also provide other infusions and injections used in cancer care, such as intravenous hydration, electrolytes, blood products, antibiotics, and other supportive treatments you may need — all in a safe, carefully monitored setting.
Radiation therapy. The latest radiation therapy technologies aim at your cancer while sparing nearby healthy tissue, resulting in fewer side effects than older radiation therapy approaches. Since many of these therapies require you to come five days a week for your care, you'll find it helpful to receive them closer to your home. Our radiation oncologists provide:
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). This technique uses radiation beams of specific intensities directed from various angles to kill cancerous tissue.
- Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). IGRT combines traditional radiation treatment with a simultaneous computed tomography (CT) scan to allow for greater precision and accuracy when targeting and treating your tumor.
- Hypofractionated ("short course") radiation therapy. This treatment regimen allows you to receive higher doses of external beam radiation over a shorter period — for example, breast cancer treatment over three weeks instead of five to six. Your doctor will let you know if this approach is right for you.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery. With this treatment, the total dose of radiation is given in a single session or is divided into smaller doses given over several days. We deliver the radiation in the form of a highly focused beam applied in multiple sweeps around the tumor. We use this approach to treat some brain tumors and other solid cancers, including some lung cancers.
- Chemoradiation. If your treatment plan includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy given over the same period of time, we can conveniently coordinate your appointments so you can receive them on the same day.