At the Segal Cancer Centre patient care is provided by interdisciplinary teams comprised of health care professionals of different fields who work together and combine their expertise to give efficient and optimal medical, psychosocial and supportive care to the patients.
There are nine interdisciplinary teams based on the location of the tumour:
- Breast Cancer Service: cancers of the breast
- Colorectal Cancer Program: colon and rectal cancers and other gastrointestinal cancers
- Hematologic Oncology: blood-based cancers such as leukemias, lymphomas and myelomas
- Pulmonary Oncology: cancers of the lung
- Head and Neck Oncology: cancers of the throat, vocal cords, oral cavity, salivary glands and thyroid
- Neuro-Oncology : tumours of the brain and spine
- Gynecologic Oncology: cancers of the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvis as well as primary peritoneal carcinomas
- Urologic Oncology: prostate, testicular, penile, bladder and kidney cancers
- Dermatologic Oncology : skin cancers
These teams contains a wide range of health care professionals including: physicians (medical, surgical and radiation oncologists as well as other specialized physicians and surgeons, as required), nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other health care specialists, as required. In addition, trained volunteers provided by Hope & Cope are on hand to help guide and support the patients.
Each team is guided by a strong physician-nurse partnership. The physician is the Medical Director and the nurse is the Clinical Administrator, while a designated Nurse Navigator is responsible for coordinating the patient’s care and providing information and education to patients and their families.
There are also eight interdisciplinary programs and services which provide care to patients across the cancer spectrum: