Patients diagnosed with certain abdominal cancers at Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Hollings Cancer Center can now get next-day access to follow-up care, the system announced July 2.
Individuals diagnosed with cancer of the stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, bile duct, periampullary region, as well as retroperitoneal sarcomas and rare, benign, or malignant tumors and hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers, are eligible.
"Most patients that are diagnosed with cancer want their tumor removed yesterday," Kevin Roggin, MD, chief of the MUSC Division of Surgical Oncology and clinical director for surgical oncology at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, said in the news release.
Once given a diagnosis, a nurse coordinator reviews the case and then schedules a one-hour follow-up with a cancer surgeon and an advanced practice provider to develop a care plan. After that, patients are scheduled for a second follow-up within a week. Between the two appointments, outside records are collected, specimens are tested and reviewed, and even nutritionists are consulted on behalf of the patient.
Experts from the cancer center's multidisciplinary gastrointestinal cancer tumor board review cases on a weekly basis. The group includes medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, and members of the center's Clinical Trials Office.
Patients also receive an oncology nurse navigator to answer questions and be a contact point throughout their cancer treatment plan.