businessspotlight
Conquering Cancer with Patient-Centered Care by Meredith Montgomery
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.he USA Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI), in Mobile, combines the sleekness of a modern facility with the warmth of patient-centered care to offer a holistic approach to cancer treatment and prevention. With research scientists, physician specialists, surgical oncologists, patient navigators, technologists and other medical professionals onsite, expert minds join together to attack cancer with a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach. Margaret Sullivan, director of business development and outreach, has been a part of MCI since its conception in 2000. “We offer the total package. As a research institute, we can provide a very personalized approach to patient care that combines the knowledge and recommendations of a team of doctors. Our physicians talk about treatment plans as a team and provide guidance and support,” explains Sullivan. “Instead of visiting one group for medical care,
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Mobile / Baldwin Edition
another for radiation and so on, we take a coordinated approach.” The recently implemented Patient Navigator program provides individual assistance to patients at all stages of diagnosis. A trained navigator is assigned to each patient to help them and their caregivers decipher the overwhelming amount of information provided, guide them through their treatment program and assist with the complexities of the healthcare system. “We don’t just treat the cancer, we treat the well-being of the whole patient at multiple levels, getting them through treatment safely and in the most comfortable way,” explains Dr. Thomas Wayne Butler, who refers to his approach as “supportive oncology”. The center recognizes the role that physical, mental and spiritual well-being play in fighting cancer and its recurrences. MCI is currently partnering with the USA psychology department to address coping mechanisms for stress
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reduction in their patients. Butler recalls one patient that was diagnosed with breast cancer, “As a single parent overwhelmed by the diagnosis, she didn’t know if she could get through this.” The counseling she received proved instrumental and instead of being withdrawn, she’s now outspoken about her experience. “She’s now able to help others, and that’s what we’re shooting for with this program,” says Butler. Therapies such as yoga are also encouraged, and the staff hopes to offer such options onsite and integrated into the cancer center model in the future. “Cancer is a very distressing diagnosis, and everyone handles it their own way,” says Butler. “We need to meet the patient where they are as an individual, not where the physician wants them to be.” Doctor-patient communication is also vital to an effective treatment plan. “As doctors, we need to make sure we’re using terminology that patients understand and we need to consider all the factors that make a patient unique— socioeconomic issues, family circumstances and side effects of medicine,” explains Butler, “And our patients need to be comfortable talking to us.” Butler notes that many patients seek
“While we aspire to be designated a national comprehensive center, you’re not just a number. We provide very personalized, human treatment.” MARGARET SULLIVAN outside therapies such as herbal remedies. As a physician, he feels that he has a responsibility to learn more about these alternative options and their effectiveness, but patients should be aware that some natural supplements can negate certain treatments. “Nutrition is a very important part of treatment, but we want to make recommendations based on what has been proven to work and is documented scientifically,” he says. While patients receive top-notch care at the center, MCI is also heavily involved in community education and