flat screen TV’s while receiving their treatments and overlooking Huntsville. Personal headsets are available for patients to choose their preferred channels or other video presentations involving their cancer treatment.
There is now ease of access to multispecialty physician services within the new Governors Medical Tower and also within walking distance of The Cancer Center. The newly constructed bridge that connects TCC to the hospital allows direct access to Huntsville Hospital and its inpatient services. Also, on the second floor of the Governors Medical Tower is an outpatient surgery center with a coffee and snack shop easily accessible from The Cancer Center.
Our Approach to Treatment
The physicians at TCC (Drs. Gualtieri, Hachem and Kruspe) offer state of the art services in medical oncology and hematology to patients of north Alabama. The specialists at TCC are committed to providing highly personalized care for patients with cancer and a wide range of blood disorders. Our physicians are involved in every aspect of their patients’ treatment. Each patient is seen by one of the 3 attending physicians from the initial visit through the treatment course, and for all subsequent follow up care, as well as during any hospitalizations.
Over the last 20 years, there have been dramatic changes in the way patients are treated. For example, chemotherapy treatments are primarily delivered in the outpatient setting rather than in the hospital. This has allowed patients with cancer to enjoy a much better quality of life. Furthermore, each year there are newly approved therapies that not only result in more cures but extend the life expectancies of patients with advanced, currently incurable cancers. The rapid pace of new discoveries in cancer therapy requires that oncologists stay abreast of these developments so that they can provide the highest quality of care.
In the past decade, exciting, innovative new treatment modalities have become standard management for patients with cancer and hematologic disorders. These include monoclonal antibody therapies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin) in breast cancer, bevacizumab (Avastin) in lung and colon cancers and targeted cancer treatments (drugs that target specific cancer gene pathways) such as imatinib (Gleevec) in chronic myelogenous leukemia and erlotinib (Tarceva) in lung cancer.
The physicians at TCC are aware of the rapid and changing treatments in cancer care around the world and frequently collaborate with other renowned hematologists/oncologists at such institutions as The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, M.D. Anderson in Texas, Sloan-Kettering in New York, The Huntsmann Cancer Center in Utah and The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, to name a few. Furthermore, TCC has begun its clinical trials program and will be making these trials available to patients so that they can participate in the latest clinical research.
The Cancer Center also offers patient assistance in dealing with insurance issues and social service counseling and assists patients and families in arranging home health care services and providing for disability claims.
