Cancer Center Plans Expansion
Clinical Cancer Center Articles
Physicians Who SpecializeWhen the new Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center opens in May, people in southeastern Wisconsin will enjoy an enhanced level of patient-centered cancer care. One thing that won’t be new is their access to comprehensive care. Unlike other hospitals and clinics in the region, Froedtert & the Medical College provide advanced treatment for every type of cancer.
According to Sue Derus, executive director of cancer services for Froedtert & Community Health, the Clinical Cancer Center will bring together a team of specialists with unmatched expertise. “We divided the Clinical Cancer Center into 13 disease-specific programs,” Derus said. “Through these 13 programs, we are able to provide care for every kind of cancer.”
The range of capabilities is impressive. Several program teams are dedicated to major diseases such as lung, breast, prostate and skin cancer. Other teams specialize in more unusual cancers such as bone and soft tissue tumors, brain tumors and cancers of the eye.
In many provider settings, “comprehensive care” means being a jack of all trades. At the Clinical Cancer Center, every physician is a master of one.
“Our physicians teams each care for a specific type of cancer, and they do it over and over and over again,” Derus said. “For example, the physicians in our Breast Cancer Program treat only breast cancer—they do nothing else.”
Sub-specialty focus is important, because some kinds of cancer include many different sub-types of the disease. Head and neck cancer, for instance, embraces several cancers of the mouth, nasal cavity, voice box, lymph nodes and a number of other structures.
“Sub-specialization allows Clinical Cancer Center physicians to gain expertise in all the different varieties of a certain cancer,” Derus said. “It’s one thing that sets us apart from other providers in the community.”
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