Treatment > Medical Oncology

Medical Oncology

Advances in the ways chemotherapy and other medical therapies are administered enable more than 95 percent of patients with cancer to receive treatment in an outpatient setting in their own community. At the Bendheim Cancer Center, Dickerman Hollister, MD, directs a multidisciplinary team of board-certified medical oncologists with decades of experience, including training at major medical institutions such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Specially trained oncology nurses provide critical care, patient education and emotional support to people with cancer and their loved ones.

Treatment plans vary depending on the characteristics of the tumor and the patient's family history and genetic composition. Some patients receive chemotherapy, which involves administering medications in a variety of combinations to destroy cancer cells throughout the body. Immunotherapy uses the immune system to fight cancer by directly targeting and destroying cancer cells, without damaging the surrounding tissue. Hormone therapy and other medical therapies are also available. Patients who qualify also have access to national clinical trials of promising treatments.

Although every patient responds to treatment differently, physicians can prescribe medications to prevent potential side effects before they appear. Relaxation techniques and other complementary therapies offered by the hospital's Integrative Medicine Program can also help alleviate side effects and lessen stress during treatment.