CANCER CARE CLOSE TO HOME

Community hospitals offer quaLITy CaRe and CONveNIeNCe By George Kovacik

Cindy Dworaczyk’s life turned upside down when she heard the word. “Incurable.” She thought she was going to die within a couple of months. Now, two years later, Zworaczyk reflects on that life-changing moment and says her faith, determination and the expert medical care she received at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital are what saved her.

For two months after being diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease, Dworaczyk stopped at Methodist Sugar Land Cancer Center on her way to work where she received a dose of radiation. “I had the opportunity to go to a hospital in the medical center for treatment early on, but the care and compassion I received at Methodist Sugar Land was second-to-none,” she says.

She calls the conveniences of Methodist Sugar Land Hospital a blessing. From free proximal parking to avoiding Houston traffic — these all-important amenities lessened her stress at a time when her cancer fueled enormous anxiety. “I never would have made it through the treatments if I would have had to drive to the Texas Medical Center every day,” she says. “The stress alone would have killed me before the cancer did.”

Dworaczyk and thousands of patients around the greater Houston area have learned that The Methodist Hospital System®’s network of community hospitals — Methodist Sugar Land, Methodist Willowbrook and San Jacinto Methodist — offer patients the ability to receive state-of-the-art care close to home. Last year alone, the three hospitals collectively logged nearly 400,000 patient visits.

“Patients who go to Methodist’s community cancer centers are treated by oncologists and staff with years of training and experience,” says Dr. Kathy Shadle, medical director of the Methodist Willowbrook Cancer Center, located in northwest Harris County. “Our collaborative approach is personalized to meet each patient’s needs. From wellness programs focused on nutrition and stress relief to advanced medical therapies, patients benefit from our comprehensive services.”

San Jacinto Methodist’s cancer center, which is located in Baytown, offers a number of support programs — Road to Recovery, Reach to Recovery, Look Good Feel Better and Dialogue Support Group — and provides a complementary consultation with ancillary staff such as dietitians and hospital clergy.

“ our collaborative approach is personalized to meet each patient’s needs.”

The Methodist Hospital

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

Methodist Sugar Land Hospital

a Commission on Cancer accredited program, the hospital recently added a patient navigator to assist patients in overcoming barriers and connecting to appropriate cancer-related services. Issues the patient navigator may address include language and cultural barriers, transportation issues, lack of financial resources, insurance difficulties, and coordination between multiple health care providers.

“all of the Methodist cancer centers strive to provide the same level of care and support you would find in the Texas Medical Center,” says Halena Hellums, San Jacinto Methodist’s director of radiation therapy. Standardized care

Methodist has made a concerted effort to standardize cancer care throughout all of our community hospitals, says Dr. Brian Butler, chairman of Radiation Oncology at The Methodist Hospital. “The goal is to be able to provide all of our patients with every piece of technology that’s available in the Texas Medical Center, and we are on our way to accomplishing that.”

“There is close communication with the cancer team to ensure patients receive personalized care, not cookie-cutter treatment dictated by protocols,” says Dr. Clive Shkedy, director of Radiation Oncology at Methodist Sugar Land. access to electronic medical records gives doctors throughout the network the ability to collaborate and discuss cases.

For example, Shadle says she had a lung cancer patient who required very specialized care. She consulted with a surgeon at The Methodist Hospital and devised a comprehensive treatment plan. “Because the images were computerized, we were able to view them simultaneously at two different locations. In this instance, we determined the best course of care to be surgery in the medical center and therapy at Methodist Willowbrook,” she says.

every Friday doctors from all four hospitals hold a teleconference where they present their cases, and they are able to garner opinions about treatment plans. “Many times when a patient is sent from a community facility to a bigger hospital for surgery or other treatment, they will see a different doctor and never come back,” Shkedy says.

“We have the luxury of sending the patient to The Methodist Hospital for very specialized treatment and having the patient come back to us to continue their care. It’s less stressful for the patient trying to find a new team of doctors.”

“ i never would have made it through the treatments if i would have had to drive to the texas medical Center every day.”

Bright future

The quality of care at Methodist Sugar Land’s cancer center helped Cindy Dworaczyk beat her cancer. after undergoing a double mastectomy and enduring 22 months of treatment, doctors told her she was cancer-free. They called her recovery nothing short of a miracle.

“The convenience of not having to worry about parking and being able to get my treatment on the way to work made it easy for me to tell them that ‘I’m sticking with Methodist.’” n

methodist’s family of Cancer Care

Cancer Care technology

HoSpital iMRt iGRt SBRt SRS Cone-Bea CtS M

paRtial BReaSt iRRadiation HiGH doSe Rate BRaCHytHeRapy CHeMo

the Methodist Hospital

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

Methodist Sugar land Hospital

San Jacinto Methodist Hospital

intenSity-Modulated Radiation tHeRapy (iMRt) Pioneered at Methodist in 1994 and now used all over the world, this advanced mode of highprecision radiotherapy utilizes computer-controlled linear accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor.

iMaGe-Guided Radiation tHeRapy (iGRt) This 3-D technology provides precise and exact information on the specific location of any softtissue or skeletal target. Having more precise location information means a smaller radiation field can be used, so there is less chance the radiation will affect healthy tissue near the tumor.

SteReotaCtiC Body RadiotHeRapy (SBRt) a form of stereotactic radiosurgery that uses a linear accelerator to deliver highly focused radiation with extreme accuracy to treat tumors in specific parts of the body such as the spine, lung and liver.

SteReotaCtiC RadiotHeRapy (SRS) a highly precise form of radiation therapy primarily used to treat tumors and other abnormalities of the brain.

Cone-BeaM CtS a machine generates a 3-D CT image before treatment is initiated that helps properly position the patient for radiation.

paRtial BReaSt iRRadiation a targeted radiation therapy developed for patients with early-stage breast cancer who have had a lumpectomy. It delivers high-dose radiation directly to the site where the tumor was removed, targeting the spot where cancer would most likely recur. Treatment time is five days vs. five to seven weeks.

HiGH doSe Rate BRaCHytHeRapy Placement of a radioactive source in or near the area to be treated, HDR brachytherapy delivers a large dose of radiation in a short period of time, so treatment delivery takes only a few minutes. The radiation dose is shaped by a computer, which changes the position of the source in catheters or specialized devices.

CHeMotHeRapy Specific chemical agents or drugs selectively destruct malignant cells and tissues.