Cancer Care is a Team Effort

When it comes to fighting cancer, it takes a team of people.  At the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton, you are not alone in the fight.

Cancer treatments are rapidly advancing and having a research focused team of radiation oncologists enables us to bring you the most up-to-date approaches to fighting your specific cancer.  Our team of doctors specialize in the treatment of lung, brain, prostate, breast and women’s cancer conditions.

In cancer care, different types of doctors often work together and combine treatments to care for a patient.  This is called a multidisciplinary team.  Our center uses a team approach in which our medical experts collaborate to develop a customized treatment plan for your specific case.

There are several benefits of using a team approach to treating cancer.  This approach gives the patient access to the right team of health professionals to plan the best treatment for the patient’s cancer type based on current research.  Together, the team can review all the factors that may affect the patient’s treatment to help prevent unexpected health problems and identify any supportive care needed.  Other benefits may include:

– faster access to treatment and referral to services,

– improved care coordination, meaning less duplication of medical tests,

– less travel for treatments,

– opportunity to hear about clinical trials,

– receiving appropriate and consistent information, as the person giving it knows the team’s plan for your care and your personal choices.

For patients, knowledge is key.  Patients should have a sense that their doctors have a coordinated plan of care and are working effectively with one another.  If patients do not feel that the members of their healthcare team are communicating effectively with them or each other about the goals of treatment and the plan of care, patients should discuss this with their doctors or seek additional medical opinions before treatment.

In addition to our team approach, the staff at the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton are some of the most experienced and knowledgeable in the area, having fought cancer for over 32 years.  From a leased space in a former high school to a dedicated office with advanced types of radiation therapy/imaged-guided treatments, the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton has treated over 6000 patients since opening in June of 1986.

Not only are we proud to be able to provide personalized, high-quality cancer care close to home for the patients in our community, but we also offer CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System as a treatment option.  Consults for this specialized service are available at the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton and treatment is provided at the Philadelphia CyberKnife center, located in Havertown, PA.

“National guidelines help doctors determine what the recommended treatment is for each cancerous condition and its stage,” says John Lamond, M.D., radiation oncologist and Medical Director of Philadelphia CyberKnife.  “By offering several types of radiation therapy designed to treat all forms and stages of cancer, we are giving our patients their best shot at fighting cancer.”

At the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton, cancer care is a team effort and we bring the team to you.

For more information on the Cancer Treatment Center at Hazleton, please contact us today.