The Benefits of Outpatient Cancer Centers

• There’s a growing trend in cancer care that allows patients to be treated closer to home.

  More and more comprehensive cancer centers are offering their world-class services in suburban outpatient centers, which allow patients to receive their treatment and have consultations in a more convenient location without the stressors of long-distance travel.

  “Cancer treatment can be very stressful, and if you add an extended commute into the mix, it’s even more challenging,” said Randi Cohen, MD, MS, Director of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center East Norriton – Hospital Outpatient Center. “Any time that we can take stressors away from patients and treat them in their community, we are happy to do so. The less time spent on traveling to your treatments, the more time you can spend doing other activities, like spending time with family, recuperating, and possibly working.”

  While inpatient hospital care is still an important part of some cancer treatments, outpatient care is a safe and effective option that more and more patients are eligible for. And individuals are more likely to seek outpatient services that are located in their communities than ones that are farther away.

  “Up to 80 percent of cancer patients are treated within their communities,” Cohen said.

  An Emphasis on Excellent Care

  Outpatient cancer treatment centers often vary in the treatments they offer. But, while they may not offer every service that is available at larger locations, they allow many patients to at least receive part of their care closer to home. And, if a patient needs to receive a certain portion of their care at the organization’s main location, their outpatient center care team will closely follow their treatments and progress.

  That’s because the physicians and clinical staff members at outpatient centers are employees of the main entity and, therefore, are held to the same standards for both clinical excellence and patient experience. They often even participate in the same tumor boards as the physicians at their organization’s main campus, bringing difficult cases to their colleagues for a multidisciplinary review.

  “It’s important for patients to understand that they are receiving the same quality of care that they would at the main campus location,” Cohen said. “There are some chemotherapy regimens, radiation treatments, and surgical procedures that patients can’t receive at outpatient facilities, but we will facilitate the best care for them and closely follow their progress.”

  Some outpatient centers even offer on-site clinical trial enrollment for patients, which is incredibly important for individuals looking to participate in research studies or who are interested in treatment options beyond standard of care therapies.

  “We can’t always offer the full array of every single clinical trial, but we are always reviewing what trials are applicable to patients at community sites,” Cohen said. “We are happy to present them to our patients.”

  Fox Chase’s Outpatient Centers

  Fox Chase Cancer Center is honored to offer our patients world-class cancer care at both Fox Chase Cancer Center Buckingham in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Fox Chase Cancer Center East Norriton – Hospital Outpatient Center in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

  The clinicians at these locations are all on the staff of Fox Chase Cancer Center and work closely with colleagues at our main location to offer individualized treatment plans for each patient.

  Each location offers different on-site services for patients, but any services that are not offered there are available at our main campus location in Philadelphia, PA.

  Learn more about the services offered at Fox Chase Cancer Center Buckingham and Fox Chase Cancer Center East Norriton – Hospital Outpatient Center.