National Comprehensive Cancer Network

NCCN Research & Business Resources

Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1.888.FOX CHASE (1.888.369.2427)
www.foxchase.org

Adult Oncology Services

Introduction

General Information

Treatment

Multidisciplinary Clinics

Stem-Cell Transplant Program

The Fox Chase-Temple Bone-Marrow Transplant Program offers bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, including collection and laboratory processing. The program has performed more than 1,200 transplants since opening in 1988. It occupies a state-of-the-art facility at Jeanes Hospital, an affiliate of the Temple University Health System, and is located adjacent to Fox Chase Cancer Center. The program offers both autologous (self-donor) and allogeneic (donor) transplants in adults. Allogeneic transplants may come from either matched related or matched unrelated donors. The Fox Chase-Temple Bone-Marrow Transplant Program offers treatment protocols for patients aged 16 through 70. For patients over 40 or those who do not qualify for high-intensity regimens, low-intensity or mini-transplant programs are available using matched related or unrelated donors.

The Fox Chase-Temple program is fully accredited by the National Marrow Donor Program and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), which has awarded the program its prestigious Level I status.

Cancer Prevention and Screening

Services of Fox Chase's Risk Assessment Program include education, a personal review of one's risk for cancer, screening and screening recommendations, and counseling about genetic testing, if appropriate. The program is part of the Center’s Department of Clinical Genetics, which builds on the success of Fox Chase's Margaret Dyson Family Risk Assessment Program. Established in 1991 by Mary Daly, MD, PhD, FACP, for those at high risk of breast and ovarian cancers, the Dyson program was one of the first programs in the nation to offer screening, education, and counseling to healthy people at increased genetic risk for disease. Since then, Fox Chase has expanded risk assessment services to those at high risk for prostate and gastrointestinal cancers as well as melanoma.

Screening in the Community
Fox Chase’s Office of Health Communications and Health Disparities provides community education and on-site screening by partnering with community organizations, religious institutions, support groups, corporations, senior living sites, and health clinics throughout the Philadelphia area. Fox Chase has the only mobile mammography van equipped with digital mammography in the Philadelphia region. For more information, call 215.728.3554.

Support Services

1.888.FOX CHASE (1.888.369.2427)

This toll-free phone line gives easy access to Fox Chase for patients and family members. Oncology-certified nurses answer questions about cancer, treatment options, and more Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

CarePages

CarePages are free, private, personalized Web pages for patients and families at Fox Chase. The service helps patients keep others up to date on their progress both during and following treatment. Visit www.carepages.com/fccc.

Live Help

Patients and family members can connect with a trained cancer education specialist online to get answers to cancer-related questions in real-time. This service is available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. At all other times, users may e-mail their questions and receive a response within one to two business days. Visit www.foxchase.org/cancer/liveHelp.html.

Social Work Services

215-728-2668

This department offers professional counseling and support for patients and families in coping with cancer at all stages of diagnosis and treatment. Practical problems are also addressed such as transportation, accommodations for family members, nursing home placement, insurance, and financial concerns.

Support Groups

Social Work Services offers a number of support groups for patients and their families. These include:

Bereavement Support Group: Offers support for families dealing with the loss of a loved one to cancer.

Breast Cancer Support Group: Offers support to women with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Participants can join at any time during or after treatment for support, information and sharing.

Esophagectomy Support Group: Helps esophagectomy patients learn about this procedure and offers a forum for sharing their experiences with others. Group is composed of newly diagnosed people, people undergoing treatment, and post-treatment patients who can share successful ways of coping.

Head & Neck Support Group: Offers education and support for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Family members are also welcomed. Educational services are provided by a speech therapist, physical therapist, clinical nurse specialist, and social worker.

Kidney Cancer Support Group: Co-sponsored by the Kidney Cancer Association to offer support for people diagnosed with kidney cancer.

Kids' Night Out: Offers school-aged children the chance to address general issues related to parental cancer through art and play activities. There is a group for parents that meets at the same time.

Laryngectomy Group ("The Speak Eezy Club of Delaware Valley"): Provides free speech therapy and psychosocial support to patients and their families.

Look Good… Feel Better: This free program, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, helps women cancer patients learn new ways of dealing with changes in appearance that may occur throughout chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Licensed cosmetologists with special training related to skin care, hair loss and nail care teach makeup, hair styling, and grooming techniques. Participants practice these techniques using products donated by the cosmetic industry.

Ostomy Support Group: Offers support for patients who have had surgery, such as a colostomy or ileostomy.

For more information about support groups at Fox Chase, call 215.728.2668.

Survivor Clinics

Through Fox Chase's Survivor Clinics, advance practice clinicians continue to provide care and address the needs of patients who have completed their cancer treatment. For more information, call 1.888.FOX CHASE (1.888.369.2427).

Supportive Care

Pain and Palliative Care Program

215.728.3544.

This program provides palliative care and pain management for patients at any time during their illness, often starting at diagnosis. One of the few such centers in the nation, the staff develops an individual care plan to provide the fastest pain relief in the most effective way with the fewest side effects. Nurses are on call at all times, and provide intensive education and support for patients.

Nutrition Support Services

215.728.4756

Nutrition Support Services at Fox Chase provides nutrition assessment and evaluation for patients receiving specialized nutrition such as enteral or parenteral nutrition. The service is directed by a doctor who specializes in oncologic gastroenterology and provided by a registered, licensed dietitian specializing in nutrition support. Services are available to both inpatients and outpatients.

Outpatient Nutrition Clinic

215.728.2600

Cancer patients being treated on an outpatient basis have access to Fox Chase's Outpatient Nutrition Clinic, available on Friday afternoons. Patients may make an appointment for a one-on-one consultation with the dietitian if they are having trouble maintaining their weight during treatment or have other nutrition questions or problems. There is no referral or payment required for the service. Patients needing help may call to speak with the dietitian at any time.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

215.728.2592

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Fox Chase offers occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and lymphedema therapy (using complete decongestive physiotherapy). Services are available to both inpatients and outpatients.

Respiratory Care

215-728-3515

Registered respiratory therapists (RRT) and certified respiratory therapy technicians (CRTT), under the direction of a pulmonary physician, help patients minimize heart and lung disease symptoms and maximize their strength. Respiratory care services are also important in caring for the critically ill and providing valuable diagnostic information for doctors.

Stress Management Program

215.214.3940

Fox Chase's stress management team includes two psychiatrists and one psychologist who are experienced in treating the psychological symptoms often reported by cancer patients. These symptoms can include depression, anxiety, irritability, extreme fatigue, difficulty sleeping, impaired concentration, lack of interest or decreased ability to experience joy, and difficulties with substance use. Individually-tailored programs may include the medical management of symptoms related to depression or anxiety, brief cognitive-behavioral therapy to fine-tune or add new coping strategies to a patient's “tool bag,” and instruction in simple stress management and relaxation techniques.

Cooperative Group Membership

Clinical and Research Efforts

In an important step towards personalized cancer treatment, Fox Chase Cancer Center launched its Institute for Personalized Medicine in May 2009. Unlike the traditional method of delivering care, this approach will base treatment on the genetic makeup of an individual patient's tumor. Through the Institute for Personalized Medicine, Fox Chase doctors and researchers are using leading edge technology to expand the understanding of cancer genetics, develop clinical trials of new treatments, and match emerging drug treatments to the unique genetics of individual patient tumors.

In addition, the Keystone Programs for Collaborative Discovery are a suite of innovative team-based cancer research initiatives launched by Fox Chase Cancer Center in February 2008. At the heart of each Keystone Program is a self-organized group of scientists, clinicians, and other research professionals seeking to integrate and focus their joined expertise on a major question in cancer. The expectation is that this team-based, thematic research approach will accelerate the pace of medical progress against cancer. Learn more about the Keystone Programs and other research initiatives at Fox Chase by visiting www.foxchase.org/research/.

For information about clinical trials at Fox Chase, visit:

www.foxchase.org/cancer/clinicalTrials

www.protonet.fccc.edu/

Adult Oncology Program*

*Data is for the 2010 FY (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010)

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