Cancer Teams Treat Whole Patient
Until recently, a cancer diagnosis
was often considered a death
sentence. Fortunately, today it is
viewed more as a chronic disease.
“Early detection and improved
treatment are allowing people
with cancer to live longer and
with a better quality of life,” said
Raul Parra, MD, Medical Director
of the Regional Cancer Center at
Holy Name Medical Center.
for many patients, and put many
more in remission. These enhanced
treatments are also instrumental in
reducing side effects and long-term
negative lifestyle changes.
Hoping to expand on these
positive outcomes, oncologists
are working with other clinical
professionals to develop
individualized treatment plans
for each patient. Dr. Parra, who
“
treated the disease. Now we treat
the patient as a whole.”
“For example, if a woman
is successfully treated for breast
cancer, you can’t say that’s it.
You have to make sure if she
develops complications that you
have someone ready to help her,”
Dr. Parra said. “You need support
teams for patients so you are
addressing all aspects of the patient
One of my priorities at Holy Name is to form
teams that will consist—depending on the needs of the
patient—of a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical
oncologist, nurse, nutritionist, physical therapist, social
worker and others to not only treat the cancer but to
support the entire patient. In the past, we just treated
the disease. Now we treat the patient as a whole.
RAUL PARRA, MD
“Look at prostate cancer—
it is the most common cancer in
men nationwide,” said Dr. Parra, a
urologic oncologist. In New Jersey,
about 8,000 new cases are diagnosed
annually, with a great proportion
of them in North Jersey. Because
of early detection and improved
treatments, the death rate is down
more than 40 percent compared to
only 15 years ago.”
Deaths from all types of
cancer have been declining in
the last two decades and much
of the survivorship is due not
only to earlier diagnoses but to
advancements made in various types
of treatments. Improved surgical
techniques, radiation therapies
and targeted medications have
all helped keep the disease at bay
recently joined Holy Name,
believes the future of cancer
treatment is forming integrated
teams that specialize in different
types of cancer, with each member
holding a specific role in the
treatment protocol. The advantage
of these disease-specific treatment
teams is that every patient receives
very highly specialized care from
experts in that particular cancer.
“One of my priorities at
Holy Name is to form teams that
will consist— depending on the
needs of the patient— of a surgeon,
radiation oncologist, medical
oncologist, nurse, nutritionist,
physical therapist, social worker and
others to not only treat the cancer
but to support the entire patient,”
Dr. Parra said. “In the past, we just
”
and the disease, from diagnosis
through recovery.”
At Holy Name, which
specializes in providing health care
with consideration for different
cultures and practices, cancer care
services already encompass pain
management, physical therapy,
social services and language
interpretation at all levels.
“Most of the components
are already here at Holy Name,”
Dr. Parra said. “Everyone works in
unison and patients not only get
the best possible treatment here but
they do so close to home without
as much of an interruption to their
lifestyle as if they travelled farther
away for care.”