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CANCER PROGRAM
Many important changes take place when a doctor tells someone they have cancer. These changes affect the entire circle of family and friends who surround the cancer patient. The goal of the cancer program at Prince William Hospital is to provide high quality services to both the patient and family. Our greatest asset is the compassionate, personalized care afforded our cancer patients.
Since 1981, our cancer program has demonstrated continued success in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in our community. The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer first recognized the excellence of our program when the Commission on Cancer awarded Prince William Hospital with the Community Hospital Cancer Program accreditation in 1986. In 2008, the hospital received a three-year accreditation with commendations in seven areas:
- Outcomes analysis
- Quality of National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data submission
- AJCC staging
- Patient guidelines
- Prevention and early detection programs
- Cancer registry staff education
- Cancer-related improvements
Quality cancer care is a team effort. The spectrum of care at Prince William Hospital is monitored by the cancer committee, a group of physicians and departmental representatives involved directly or indirectly in the treatment of cancer patients. The committee ensures that consultative services are available to cancer patients and their families.
Patient-oriented multidisciplinary cancer conferences are held monthly. Current case treatment and management options are discussed during these conferences, affording the cancer patient with quality care.
Community Outreach
Educating the community about cancer prevention and detection is a priority at Prince William Hospital. Each year, we offer free or low-cost screenings and educational programs such as skin cancer screenings and breast health seminars. The hospital also serves as a cancer education resource for physicians, nurses and allied healthcare professionals.
CANCER DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
Rigorous standards are maintained for quick and accurate diagnosis through the pathology and radiology departments.
Accuracy of diagnosing and staging of cancer is maximized with laboratory tests, including sophisticated immunohistochemical studies and DNA probes through pathology. Radiological studies use the newest technology in CT scans, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, Mammotome and stereotactic breast biopsies, and endoscopic procedures available through radiology and imaging.
Prince William Hospital recently installed a new computer-aided detection (CAD) system for mammography that assists radiologists in identifying breast cancer. A sophisticated screening tool, CAD provides a computerized second review of mammograms, making the detection of breast cancer more accurate.
Prince William has two locations where mammograms and other imaging services are offered: the main hospital at 8700 Sudley Road in Manassas and the Heathcote Health Center, conveniently located at 15195 Heathcote Blvd., Haymarket, Va.
CANCER TREATMENT SERVICES
Surgery and medical oncology, including chemotherapies and immunotherapies, are among the cancer treatments available at Prince William Hospital.
The Cancer Center at Lake Manassas
Prince William Hospital and Fauquier Hospital joined forces to bring a much-needed radiation therapy center to western Prince William County. The Cancer Center at Lake Manassas, which opened in February 2007, is located at the intersection of Route 29 and Lake Manassas Drive in Gainesville. The 20,000-square-foot facility houses the most innovative radiation therapy technology available, including the IMRT Linear Accelerator, which has been called the most significant technological advancement in radiation oncology in the past 10 years. Additionally, The Cancer Center now offers Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computer Tomography (CT) scanning. The combination of these technologies enable improved accuracy in evaluating various cancers. Please call (703) 753-4045 for more information.
Oncology Unit Services
Inpatient Oncology Six-Bed Unit
The nursing staff is specially trained in oncology nursing and in addressing the physical and emotional needs of cancer patients and their families. Families are encouraged to participate in the decision-making process and the care of the patient.
Inpatient hospice care in our hospital is available through our affiliations with Capital Hospice and the Community Hospice of Virginia.
Outpatient Oncology Unit
Infusions of therapeutic and supportive drug regimens and management of patient-controlled analgesia devices are among the outpatient medical services provided. In addition, comprehensive support services are offered.
Oncology Family Room
The family room offers a variety of resources, including information on clinical trials, support groups and diagnostic treatment information. It also provides a private meeting place in which to confer with the physician.
The oncology staff works closely with physicians as well as with hospital departments and outside agencies to develop a coordinated plan to care for the patient and family from the initial contact until support is no longer required.
Clinical Trial Information
Clinical trial information is available at the hospital for our patients and their families. Clinical trials or protocols are enrolled through the physician offices. Call (703) 369-8322 for a free copy of our Physician Directory, which lists physicians by specialty, including oncology.
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation services provides individualized programs of physical and occupational therapy and speech pathology to maximize a person's functional abilities. Two specialized programs include:
| | A 15-minute light touch massage program for oncology inpatients and chemotherapy patients offered three times weekly. | | | An outpatient lymphedema program offered to patients to control swelling, an occasional complication when lymph vessels are damaged. |
SUPPORT SERVICES
Psychosocial Support Services
The psychosocial support arm of the cancer program team works to integrate a specialized plan into the overall treatment that addresses the unique psychosocial concerns of the cancer patient and family. The individualized plan may include counseling, psychotherapy, health education, community resource referral and discharge planning/case management.
Food and Nutrition Services
Registered dietitians provide customized nutrition assessments as well as counseling and education for the patient and family. Medical nutrition therapy is individualized to provide optimal nutrition support for each person. Outpatients are seen by appointment in the Wellness Center, located on the hospital campus. For more information, please call (703) 369-8405.
Cancer Support/Education Groups
The cancer support group meets every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the 4th floor Conference Room C of Medical Building 1. Cancer patients and family members are welcome to attend this group for information, comfort and friendship. Breast cancer patients and survivors are welcome to attend a monthly support group that meets the last Friday of each month at noon; participants are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. The hospital also sponsors the Look Good Feel Better program several times a year for women cancer patients. Trained cosmetologists teach beauty techniques to women cancer patients to help them cope with the appearance-related side effects of treatment. Women learn how to deal with skin changes and hair loss using cosmetics and skin care products donated by the cosmetic industry. They also learn how to choose and care for wigs and how to disguise hair loss with scarves and other accessories. The program is free, but registration is required. For more information about these support groups, please call (703) 369-8405.
Pastoral Services
Supportive pastoral services are available as requested either on-site or as referrals to community resources.
Information Resources
The Medical Library has a wide selection of cancer literature available to physicians, patients and their families.
CANCER REGISTRY
The cancer registry maintains the registry database of the patient’s history, diagnosis, stage, treatments and outcomes for all patients who meet state and the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer reporting requirements on cancer diagnosis or other required diseases (select blood disorders and benign brain tumors). Treatment outcomes and survival statistics are maintained by conducting lifetime annual follow-up on all living patients diagnosed and/or treated at Prince William Hospital during their first course of therapy.
Oncology or cancer data management is the next step, when the registry retrieves, analyzes, evaluates for quality, and generates accurate and meaningful information for the cancer committee, medical staff or hospital administration use.
The cancer registry submits required cases monthly to the Virginia Cancer Registry for statewide statistics. Cases are submitted annually without patient identifiable information to the National Cancer Data Base for national statistics. Our hospital services and hospital experience (registry data) are shared with the American Cancer Society.
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