Advanced cancer care for the whole person

Gettysburg Hospital and WellSpan Health will introduce comprehensive cancer services in Adams County in December.

There may come a time, during life's journey, when access to a complete system of cancer care becomes essential.  Consider the story of Anita*, whose world changed the day she found a lump in her breast.

Anita felt sure the lump was benign, but a mammogram at the WellSpan Health Center in Gettysburg  and a subsequent biopsy revealed what she had feared her entire life:  she had breast cancer.

After consulting with a medical oncologist, Anita underwent surgery to remove the lump and spent several weeks having follow-up treatment at Cherry Tree Cancer Center in Hanover.  She is grateful not only for the exceptional medical care she received, but also the programs and people who supported her during her battle with cancer. She remembers the emotional support she received from the counseling services and support groups available through WellSpan Health and Gettysburg Hospital. Financial counselors helped her navigate through bills and paperwork. She even had help keeping her strength up by meeting with nutritional counselors who gave her advice on eating right based on her treatment regimen. All of this special care was available to Anita because she chose WellSpan Health to provide for her needs.

Beginning in December 2007, person's living with cancer in Adams County will benefit from the area's most progressive, complete system of care right in Gettysburg. WellSpan Health will open the doors of its newest cancer care center at the new WellSpan Adams Health Center, located near the intersection of routes 30 and 15 in the Adams Commerce Park. This new facility will join the existing York Cancer Center in York and Cherry Tree Cancer Center in Hanover as part of WellSpan's coordinated cancer program. 

The new cancer center, with its board-certified physicians and multidisciplinary staff, will feature conventional radiation and infusion therapies as well as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT allows for very precise external beam radiotherapy treatments that benefit patients by sparing healthy tissue surrounding the site of the cancer being treated. The center also will offer patients infusion therapy and access to clinical research trials.
"This gives patients access to leading-edge resources and treatment protocols often found only in larger communities," explains Kevin Mosser, M.D., president of Gettysburg Hospital and senior vice president of WellSpan Health.

Recognizing that the emotional, social and psychological aspects of cancer care often require as much attention as the physical symptoms, WellSpan's cancer program offers extensive educational resources, financial and nutritional counseling and social services.  Plus, the cancer center's location within the WellSpan Adams Health Center makes it easy to use other health services that patients might need.

"Patient convenience was paramount in determining what services to locate at the new facility." says Mosser.  In addition to serving as home to the new cancer center, the 85,000 square-foot health center will house the following Gettysburg Hospital and WellSpan Health services:

• Diagnostic Imaging
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Retail Pharmacy
• Lab Services
• Imaging Services
• Behavioral Health Services
• Diagnostic Sleep Lab
• Neurology
• Cardiovascular Device Clinic
• Other medical subspecialties

Because the cancer care is coordinated by WellSpan Health, physicians may transfer information regarding patients currently in therapy among all three cancer centers, located in York, Hanover and Gettysburg. Patients may also transfer from one center to another, should their medical condition require it.  It's all part of Gettysburg Hospital and WellSpan's mission to make sure patients have access to the right care in the right place at the right time.

*Anita is a fictitious character, but her story is very real.  To learn more about cancer care at WellSpan Health, log onto www, wellspan.org.