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Community Corner

New Approach to Treating Lung Cancer

Silver Cross Hospital will launch the first multi-disciplinary Lung Cancer Conference in Will County on Feb. 4, 2014. Sponsored by the University of Chicago Medicine, patients will benefit from a team of experienced lung cancer specialists who will coordinate all aspects of care planning so that patients can begin treatment within the shortest time possible.

 

“Typically, patients who suspect they have or are already diagnosed with lung cancer meet with several different specialists before starting treatment,” said Dr. Lawrence Schilder, medical oncologist with the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital.  “This can sometimes take several weeks or even months.  We have eliminated that with our one-stop Lung Cancer Conference.  Instead, you can come to one location and have a team of experts review your medical information and develop a plan of care all on the same day.”

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“Patients leave with peace of mind and a plan in hand,” adds Dr. David Cziperle, Thoracic Surgeon at Silver Cross Hospital.

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Convenient, One-Stop Experience

On the day of the Conference, patients meet briefly with one of the specialists who gathers the medical information to share with the other experts.  That afternoon, the multidisciplinary group of community and University of Chicago Medicine specialists representing medical oncology, pulmonology, radiation oncology, interventional radiology, and thoracic surgery convene to review the patient’s case including any related pathology and imaging reports available to them.  The physicians then develop a consensus recommendation, discuss next steps, and present the suggested individualized treatment plan to the patient for their consideration. 

 

In addition, patients will be partnered with a nurse navigator who guides them through the entire process.  If any additional tests are recommended, the patient will have the opportunity to return the following week to discuss results and finalize the treatment plan.  The group’s recommendations will also be shared with the patient’s primary physician in order to enhance coordination of care.

 

“Since time if of essence when treating lung cancer, all the specialists involved in the Lung Cancer Conference are donating their time and expertise to assist patients in receiving a personalized treatment plan option and doing this close to their home,” says Dr. Schilder.

 

Get Started

The Lung Cancer Conference is held every Tuesday at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital located in the Carolyn J. Czerkies Pavilion at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox.  Call 1-815-300-LUNG (5864) to schedule an appointment.  Every effort will be made to see patients within a week in order to expedite care.

 

About Silver Cross Hospital

Silver Cross Hospital is a not-for-profit health care provider serving Will County and southwest suburban communities since 1895. Silver Cross has been recognized as a Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals National Award winner for seven consecutive years and as a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers. With over 3,500 employees, physicians and volunteers, Silver Cross operates a new 289-bed acute care hospital at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox and 8 satellite facilities providing outpatient services and physician offices. To learn more about Silver Cross Hospital or a referral to a physician on staff, visit www.silvercross.org or call 1-888-660-HEAL (4325).  Physicians on Silver Cross Hospital’s Medical Staff have expertise in their areas of practice to meet the needs of patients seeking their care.  These physicians are independent practitioners on the Medical Staff and are not the agents or employees of Silver Cross Hospital. They treat patients based upon their independent medical judgment and they bill patients separately for their services.

 

About the University of Chicago Medicine

The University of Chicago is home to world-class medical, research and teaching facilities where innovation has been a hallmark for decades. University of Chicago physician-scientists performed the first organ transplant and the first bone marrow transplant in animal models, the first successful living-donor liver transplant, the first hormone therapy for cancer and the first successful application of cancer chemotherapy. Its researchers also discovered REM sleep and were the first to describe several of the stages of sleep. Twelve of the 87 Nobel Prize winners associated with the University of Chicago have received the award for discoveries related to biology or medicine.

 

The University of Chicago’s Biological Sciences Division and the Medical Center work together under the University of Chicago Medicine brand to teach and train future physicians, perform research and practice patient care. The Medical Center ranks among the best in the country in cancer treatment, digestive disorders, diabetes and endocrinology, according to U.S. News & World Report’s survey of the nation’s hospitals. The University of Chicago Medicine’s Comer Children’s Hospital also is among the nation’s leading children’s hospitals, particularly in neonatology, gastroenterology and pulmonology. And the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine was named one of the Top 10 medical schools in the United States in U.S. News’ 2012 graduate schools survey.



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