Oncology

The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has accredited our hospital as a Community Cancer Program, and each treatment plan in our program is disease-specific, with your whole health in mind.

When working to diagnose cancer, we want to ensure we collect as much information as possible. In order to gain the broadest possible overview of your current health and anatomy, particularly to understand the scope of whatever cancer you may be experiencing, we use several different diagnostic and imaging tools, including:

• 3D mammography, also known as tomosynthesis
• Colonoscopy
• Computerized tomography (CT) scans
• Digital mammography
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
• Mammogram
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
• Ultrasound
• X-ray

Breast cancer screening

Though breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in women, long-term complications are decreasing. If you or a loved one have recently faced a positive diagnosis, we offer a full range of breast cancer services.

Genetic counseling provides information and support to help you understand how genetic conditions may affect you or your family. During a genetic counseling session, a genetic counselor will take your complete family and medical history. You will learn more about your cancer risk, the potential risk to other family members and other screening, management and treatment options.

Reasons you may want to receive genetic counseling include:

• Cancers that have occurred in more than one generation
• Contracting cancer at age 50 or younger
• Contracting cancer that develops in both organs, such as breasts, ovaries or kidneys
• Family members having two or more cancers in the past
• Having family members with known genetic mutations
• Having rare cancers or tumors, such as sarcoma or male breast cancer

What to expect during your genetic counseling appointment

After family and medical histories have been assessed and you have been given introductory information, your counselor will schedule the genetic testing. However, deciding whether or not to undergo genetic testing is a personal choice and should only be scheduled after you carefully consider the benefits, risks and limits of each test.

Once you receive your test results, you and your counselor can talk about how the result effects cancer screening, treatment and management, as well as the testing recommendations for other relatives.

Does insurance cover genetic testing?

Many insurance plans cover genetic testing. Most testing labs will obtain pre-authorization from your insurance carrier before testing occurs. If there are high out-of-pocket expenses, the lab will contact you for approval before beginning the test. The genetic counselor can help you find out what your insurance will pay for.

Cancer treatment options differ depending on the type and stage of cancer. A wide range of treatment services are available, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, as well as surgical options, including brain stereotactic radiosurgery.

Brain stereotactic radiosurgery

During brain stereotactic radiosurgery, a sophisticated instrument pinpoints and delivers precise beams of radiation to brain tumors and other brain abnormalities. It destroys any abnormalities without harming normal brain tissue or adjacent nerves and blood vessels.

Since there is no surgical incision to expose the inside of the brain, the risk of surgical complications is reduced. The treatment is virtually painless and does not require general anesthesia. Because it is noninvasive, there is no scarring and little risk of infection.

Treatment can be as short as 15 minutes or as long as two hours, depending on the dose of radiation and number of times you are repositioned. Recovery time is brief, and there are no immediate side effects. You will most likely be treated in one session and go home the same day to return to your normal routine.