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News Release

HOSPITAL BRINGS TOGETHER CANCER CARE SERVICES IN SENECA

Hematologist/oncologist Nicholas Cook, MD, and chemotherapy clinic nurses Katie Bouquin (left) and Joyce Schwab are members of the cancer care team at UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest.

Feb. 28, 2007 — Now that its services all are in one location, UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest is better able than ever to meet area residents’ cancer care needs.

The cancer center’s newest additions are its outpatient chemotherapy clinic and the practice of hematologist/oncologist Nicholas Cook, MD, both of which moved from Franklin to the hospital in Seneca. These additions complement the state-of-the-art radiation oncology unit and the practices of three other physicians – radiation oncologists Joanne Dragun, MD, and R. Nicholas Gramatovici, MD, and thoracic surgeon James Klena, MD – who also are part of the cancer center.

Patients now can see any of the four doctors and obtain both radiation treatment and chemotherapy, all under one roof. They also can obtain blood tests, CT scans and other exams nearby in the same building.

Another advantage: the four physicians can more easily consult one another when they need to coordinate their patients’ care.

“One of our goals is to provide an environment that’s comforting and reassuring to patients,” Dr. Dragun says. “Bringing our cancer care team and our services together in one location helps to accomplish this and makes it easier for patients to obtain care.”

The two-year-old UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest was the first cancer care center in the region to offer intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a powerful new weapon to fight cancer. Radiation treatment team members provide IMRT with the cancer center’s Siemens ONCOR Linear Accelerator, one of the most advanced radiation treatment systems available.

With the ONCOR system’s IMRT function and an important companion unit – the ADAC 3-D Treatment Planning System – the cancer center’s radiation treatment team can deliver more precise, more powerful doses of radiation than ever against prostate, breast, lung, head and neck, and other cancers, Dr. Dragun says.

In addition to its state-of-the-art radiation treatment capabilities, UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest offers leading edge medical oncology services, including new “targeted therapies” or “biologic therapies.” These drugs are revolutionizing the treatment of some forms of cancer, and are doing so without many of the side effects such as hair loss, nausea and low blood counts that chemotherapies often cause.

“Targeted therapies are a promising development, and they are greatly benefiting patients as we continue our quest to bring cancer under control,” Dr. Cook says.

A reassuring environment, highly-skilled treatment team, and supportive personal care also are prominent features of the cancer center, Dr. Dragun says.

UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest holds accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and the American College of Radiation Oncology. It is the only hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania – and one of a select group of hospitals statewide – to have achieved both of these marks of excellence.

As one of the newest members of the UPMC Cancer Centers network, UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest is part of one of the nation’s best cancer care programs as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.