Many of the diagnostic and therapeutic technologies housed in Southeast’s Regional Cancer Center are equal or superior to the equivalent technologies available at many of the nation’s best-known cancer treatment facilities. Those technologies include:
- One of the few Novalis® Shaped Beam Surgery™ systems in the world (and the first in Missouri);
- A large-bore 16 slice Phillips CT Simulator for precise tumor targeting;
- A Varian Clinac 21EX linear accelerator, equipped to deliver Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), the same technology found at internationally-known cancer centers including M.D. Anderson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and the Mayo Clinic; and
- The daVinci® Surgical System for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy procedures, only the third such system in Missouri. Thanks to daVinci, Southeast can now offer men every treatment option available for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Inpatient care
The Hospital’s dedicated 10-bed acute care oncology unit features an all-RN nursing staff specifically trained in the care of oncology patients and certified by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to administer chemotherapy. Many of the nurses are also certified oncology nurses, also through ONS. This certification is awarded following a rigorous written examination regarding the care of patients with cancer. Our inpatient oncology staff includes the only ONS approved chemotherapy and biotherapy instructor in southeast Missouri.
Outpatient services
A wide array of outpatient services are performed in our Infusion Services area including chemotherapy administration, blood transfusion, IV antibiotics, hydration therapy, injections and other specialty infusions. In addition, physicians routinely perform bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, thoracentesis and paracentesis in the department. PICC line placements are performed by nurses in Infusion Services.
Latest protocols
Through Southeast Missouri Hospital’s participation in the St. Louis/Cape Girardeau Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), oncologists and their patients have access to the latest available national treatment protocols (courses of treatment). These protocols have been developed as the result of ongoing cancer control research studies being conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP).
Southeast Missouri Hospital has considered the possibility of affiliating our oncology services with organizations such as M.D. Anderson. However, in terms of actual patient care benefits, we could see no value in paying a fee for the use of another cancer care facility’s name. Southeast Missouri Hospital continues to maintain its referral relationship with major cancer treatment centers throughout the nation, giving physicians and patients a choice of treatment options should they prefer to seek care beyond Cape Girardeau.
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