HCA Midwest Health - January 08, 2018

Advances to fight cancer in Kansas City

When you’re in the fight against cancer, the last thing you want to do is leave home. Your family, friends, comforts, communities – they’re all right here in the Kansas City area. Which is why HCA Midwest Health works to bring the latest advances in cancer care to you.

In partnership with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network of Excellence, HCA Midwest Health provides world class cancer care – from cutting-edge technologies like CyberKnife, Gamma Knife and MammoSite to personalized services like tumor profiling and our Nurse Navigators.

And best of all, most treatments are available in multiple HCA Midwest Health hospital locations so, not only can you stay in Kansas City, often you can stay in your own neighborhood for treatment.

Preventing hair loss from chemotherapy

Preventing hair loss from chemotherapy is not just about preserving looks. It’s about preserving privacy and a sense of self. That’s what’s happening for local patients thanks to a new system.

The DigniCap® System cools off the scalp during chemotherapy treatments to help prevent hair loss. Patients wear the cap during their chemotherapy infusions. The cap cools the scalp consistently and comfortably which helps prevent hair loss in two ways:

  • Slowing blood flow to the scalp, which means less of the damaging chemotherapy drugs reach hair cells.
  • Decreasing how fast cells in the scalp and hair metabolize the chemotherapy drugs, so the drugs do less damage.

Learn more about the DigniCap system used at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at Menorah Medical Center, the first Kansas City area hospital to adopt DigniCap.

Breast cancer surgery without a scar

Surgery scars can be daily reminder of your battle with breast cancer and can take a toll on your self esteem. But they don’t have to be, thanks to a new cutting-edge surgical technique called Hidden Scar™ being performed at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center and Menorah Medical Center.

These procedures leave little to no visible scarring because incisions are made along the natural lines of the armpit or breast (around the areola or the crease under your breast called the inframammary fold). And patients do NOT have a higher risk of their cancer returning with the Hidden Scar surgery compared to other breast surgery techniques.

There are two types of Hidden Scar surgeries:

  • Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy. Removes breast tissue while preserving the nipple, areola and skin. In Hidden Scar, the incision is made along the inframammary fold instead of through the center of the breast.
  • Breast-Conserving Surgery. Also called a lumpectomy, this procedure removes the tumor and surrounding tissue but leaves the rest of the breast intact. In Hidden Scar, the incision is made along the inframammary fold, the armpit or along the areola.

Learn more with our Hidden Scar Factsheet or schedule a consultation by calling (816) 751-3000.

Helping patients through cancer treatment

When you are receiving cancer care with Sarah Cannon HCA Midwest Health, you are never going through it alone, thanks, in part, to the Nurse Navigator program. Nurse Navigators are specially-trained nurses who are paired with patients and then closely follow them throughout their care journey – from discovery through recovery and survivorship.

Nurse Navigators have in-depth knowledge of the type of cancer you may be facing. They can talk to you about procedures, tests, medications and treatments. Nurse Navigators also provide hands-on services like coordinating and scheduling your appointments—even holding your hand through difficult appointments if you want them too.

Learn more about how Nurse Navigators smooth the path for cancer treatment.

Clinical trials for cancer

It has never been easier to access cancer clinical trials thanks to the partnership between HCA Midwest Health and the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Through the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network, HCA Midwest Health physicians are able to stay up-to-date on the latest research and offer targeted opportunities to patients.

The Sarah Cannon Cancer Network has been conducting clinical trials in communities like the Kansas City region for more than 20 years. Joining with the HCA Midwest Health Clinical Research Program, founded in 2008, provides unprecedented access to the latest clinical trials without having to leave your community and support system.

Over the last decade, Sarah Cannon has been a clinical trial leader in approximately 80 percent of approved cancer therapies. The Sarah Cannon Cancer Network at HCA Midwest Health is currently offering about 30 open local clinical trials with access to more than 500 national trials.

The Clinical Trial Program looks for ways to prevent, detect and treat disease. For a list of the trials currently active in the area, visit our Clinical Research Listing.

Cancer treatment designed just for you

When we talk about personalized cancer treatment, we don’t just mean making you comfortable and keeping you informed during treatments (although we do that too). We mean that the cancer treatment you receive is designed just for you – for the genetic profile of your particular tumor.

No two cancers are alike. Through techniques like tumor profiling, we are able to genetically engineer the medications we use to help fight cancer.

Talk to your doctor about personalized treatment options or call askSARAH at (816) 448-7737 – a free service of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute HCA Midwest Health.

Advanced cancer care close to home

As part of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network of Excellence, HCA Midwest Health hospitals can offer cancer patients the latest treatment advances right here in their Kansas City area community.

Here are just a few of the benefits:

  • Comprehensive treatment plans with some of the most rapid diagnosis to treatment times available in the city
  • Seven cancer centers and four outreach clinics throughout the region – giving you have access to world class cancer, close to home
  • Highly specialized surgical oncologists offering minimally-invasive and cutting-edge robotic surgery options

Learn more about your local Sarah Cannon at HCA Midwest Health cancer centers and outreach clinics: