We surround you with a multidisciplinary team of cancer professionals, so you feel confident in every aspect of the care you receive during your cancer journey.
You’ll be cared for by a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists who are renowned for their skill and compassion. Your expert team will include multiple professionals because cancer treatment often involves a combination of therapies.
To meet your medical and personal needs, your team will be made up of the following roles:
Your doctors and surgeons have the expertise and empathy to treat your cancer effectively.
They will:
Because cancer can be overwhelming in many ways, we provide you with the personal support of a nurse navigator. Our nurse navigators ensure you have confidence in your care, every step of the way.
Our nurse navigators can give you support:
Our nurse navigators include:
A cancer diagnosis can be very difficult to digest. You may have trouble understanding your prognosis, treatment options, or the available resources.
That's why a social worker is part of your cancer care team, and can help you and your family with many aspects of your cancer care:
To speak with a member of the social work team, call 513-585-4002 or email us at CancerSupport@TheChristHospital.com.
Registered nurses working on your cancer team have highly specialized training in medical and radiation oncology. Their oncology certification indicates that they provide care with the highest level of skill. And they always stay on the cutting edge with training by nurse educators.
A nurse will assess you and discuss your concerns during each visit or while you're in the hospital. They also collaborate with members of your cancer team to give you support.
As a side effect of treatment, you may have dietary issues. Our registered dietitians help you with those issues by managing any eating and drinking needs you have.
Dietitians do the following things:
To speak with a dietitian, call 513-585-4250.
A genetic counselor educates you and your family about inherited cancer risks and helps all of you make informed choices.
Genetic counselors are trained in understanding and explaining the results of genetic testing. Also, they can assist with decisions about treatment and follow-up care.
Cancer treatments may cause lymphedema–a condition where fluid collects in the arms or legs, and causes swelling (edema), pain, and stiffness. If you experience lymphedema, you’ll find relief with our certified lymphedema therapists.
Your therapist may use a combination of the following approaches:
Your medical oncologist is a doctor who has special training in diagnosing and treating cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. These doctors are often your main health care provider if you have cancer.
Some medical oncologists also specialize in blood disorders.
Cancer nurse practitioners and physician assistants can help you:
Pain management specialists, called anesthesiologists, are doctors who provide you with optimum pain control. Pain specialists design personalized treatment plans for each patient.
Plans may combine pain management strategies:
Your pain management specialist checks with you and your family often to see if any pain controls need to be adjusted to keep you as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
Pathologists are doctors who help all your cancer specialists determine your treatment options. That’s because pathologists interpret laboratory tests and evaluate cells, tissues, and a variety of bodily fluids to diagnose disease.
Pathologists report the extent of cancer within your body, especially whether it has spread.
Physicists and dosimetrists specialize in medical physics and work closely with your radiation oncologist to oversee the quality control of radiation oncology equipment. They ensure that complex treatments are properly tailored for each patient.
A dosimetrist determines your radiation dosage so that your treatment destroys cancer tissue and spares healthy tissue.
Radiation oncologists specialize in treating cancer with radiation therapy. This can include things like stereotactic radiosurgery, intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), and image-guided radiotherapy.
Radiation therapists manage the delivery of your prescribed treatments under the direction of radiation oncologists and according to best practices.
Radiation therapists' duties include:
Radiologists are doctors who specialize in planning treatment and testing for cancer. The radiologists on The Christ Hospital team have many different specialties:
If you and your doctors decide to take part in one of our clinical trials, your researcher will study the effects of any promising new drugs and procedures that become part of your treatment plan.
Surgical specialists perform numerous procedures related to cancer care. Your type of cancer surgeon depends on the type of surgery your doctor recommends:
