By: Chuck DeGooyer, TCCC CEO

2016 was an extraordinary year for your Tri-Cities Cancer Center. This past year we were the first cancer center in the nation to receive the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Accreditation for Excellence (APEx®). This prestigious recognition focuses on quality patient care and safety, validating our statement that “world-class care” is available right here in our community and available at your Tri-Cities Cancer Center. Adding to this, we renovated and expanded our original clinic for the first time since our doors opened in 1994. Our new patient centric space focuses on patient privacy, comfort, convenience and offers the very latest in cutting edge cancer treatment.

As extraordinary as 2016 was, 2017 promises to be even more remarkable as we have developed partnerships and programs to improve the health and wellness of our community. Just as it was nearly 23 years ago when we opened our doors, the milestone achievements of the Tri-Cities Cancer Center are possible due to the outstanding support of our three owner hospitals, Kadlec, Lourdes Health, and Trios Health, and our community.

On March 18th,we hosted our second Colorectal Cancer Pre-Screening Event in partnership with our owner hospitals. Our region has a high incidence of late stage colorectal cancer. This disease is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and is also very preventable through screening. With our communities help sparking conversations about this disease, we had roughly five-times the number of people register for our event. Remarkable. While we still have more work to do, we took a significant step forward. Help us keep the conversation going by encouraging those you know to be proactive, be healthy and get screened for this very preventatble disease. Colonoscopies literally save lives. Literally. Together, we are building a healthier community.

This spring the Tri-Cities Cancer Center’s Breast Cancer Program, offered in partnership with our owner hospitals, begins the next step towards accreditation as a nationally recognized Breast Center of Excellence. This program includes participation by over thirty physicians and ancillary staff who specialize in the treatment of breast cancer. Patients benefit by having multiple second opinions provided by specialists from Kadlec, Lourdes, Trios and the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, all in a single setting. Nationally, programs like ours have improved time to treatment and patient outcomes. This is world-class care.

Overcoming cancer and achieving “survivorship” is something to be celebrated. However, life after cancer is different. How do patients best manage the side effects of treatment or avoid a recurrence of cancer? Who follows their care post-treatment and how can physicians be best apprised about a cancer survivor’s unique needs? Our new Survivorship Clinic is the answer to these questions. This spring we are expanding our Survivorship Program and offering our new Survivorship Clinic, staffed by ARNP Lisa Rootvik, a seasoned survivorship provider who will work closely with patients and their doctors. Life after cancer just got even better.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and a significant concern for our region. Survivorship often begins with early detection. We are expanding our early detection lung cancer screening program by closely partnering with our owner hospitals to expand screening to their locations while continuing to offer screening at the Cancer Center. Through this program we are able to find lung cancers early when they are very treatable. Positive findings are presented at our Thoracic Center of Excellence, which includes physicians from all three owner hospitals and the Cancer Center, who specialize in the treatment of lung cancer. This life saving program is available to everyone in our community who meets screening criteria.

This is just a glimpse of the exciting partnerships and programs we are bringing to our community in 2017. Award winning coach and author Bruce Brown once told me, “If you want to run fast, run by yourself. If you want to run farther… run together.” Together we can turn back the clock on cancer. Please join us as we work to improve the health and wellness of our community. Together we can prevent cancer. Together we can find cancers early, allowing greater treatment options and improved outcomes. Together we are growing our community of cancer survivors.

We are the community leader in cancer prevention, early detection, world-class treatment and survivorship.

We are your Tri-Cities Cancer Center.