Friday, June 24, 2016
Multidisciplinary clinics at Beaumont hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy
Just because people's cancer treatments have stopped, doesn’t mean their care should, too. Often times treatments that help beat cancer can cause future health concerns, also referred to as “late effects.”
To better monitor adult cancer survivors, Beaumont Health’s Cancer Center has opened new Cancer Survivorship Clinics for adults at Beaumont hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than one-half million, or nearly 544,000, cancer survivors residing in Michigan. Nationally, the figure cited is about 14.5 million cancer survivors.
Said Adil Akhtar, M.D., chief of clinical operations for the Cancer Center, “Today, we have more cancer survivors than ever before. Beaumont’s new clinics are committed to the long-term care of adult cancer survivors, both men and women.”
The nurse-led, survivorship clinic at Beaumont, Royal Oak is headed up by Kimberly Rownd, RN, along with team members from Nutrition Services, Integrative Medicine, Rehabilitation and Social Work. The program is for those who have completed active treatment for three types of cancer: colorectal, genitourinary and gynecologic.
The nurse-led, survivorship clinic at Beaumont, Troy is headed up by Lisa D’Andrea, RN, along with team members from Sharing and Caring, Nutrition Services, Integrative Medicine, Rehabilitation and Social Work. The program is for female breast cancer survivors who have completed treatment.
Both clinics are a free, one-visit program. Neither the participating patient, nor their health insurance provider, is billed for the visit.
All clinic participants begin their visit with a group education session from members of the support team, followed by private, one-on-one sessions with a physical/occupational therapist and an oncology nurse navigator.
All participants leave with a treatment summary and care plan, which includes information on follow-up guidelines and healthy lifestyle tips. Late effects of treatment and barriers to an optimal quality of life are also addressed. The patients are then referred to their appropriate treatment team members for follow-up care. The written care plan will be shared with the:
- patient
- primary care physician
- oncology treatment team
“Our cancer survivorship program partners with nurses, physicians and patients to develop a plan to help maximize health and healing of mind, body and spirit,” added Dr. Akhtar. “The long-term effects of cancer and treatment can be challenging. The clinics will aim to keep patients informed about when to follow up with physicians and improve their long-term care.”
Patients will be provided educational materials about diagnosis, treatment and potential late effects of therapy.
Explained Jason Hafron, M.D., urologist , a physician champion of the new clinics, “The sharing of information with the entire care team is crucial, especially with their primary care physician to ensure coordinated care moving forward.”
Those interested in the clinics can obtain a referral from their physician, or self-refer. For general information on Beaumont’s Cancer Survivorship Program, contact the Cancer Resource Centers in Royal Oak at 248-551-0268 or Troy at 248-964-3430.