Arizona Cancer Center

The Arizona Cancer Center is one of only forty-one treatment centers that has received this prestigious designation. It is the only comprehensive care center in the entire state of Arizona.

AZCC pledges to conduct research in order to advance mesothelioma treatment methods and move towards finding a cure for mesothelioma. The laboratory at AZCC is especially accomplished in the act of integrating its research and clinical experience in order to directly benefit patients battling cancer.

The center is dedicated towards improving cancer education as well as making top-quality care accessible for the community. The center is comprised of many different locations, such as the St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix), the University of Arizona (Tuscon), as well as about a dozen of research and education locations all over the west in Arizona, Colorado, and Mexico. In 2015, the AZCC established a Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix.

Treatment

The University of Arizona Cancer Center is equipped to treat an immense array of diseases, including mesothelioma. After diagnosis, patients at AZCC are referred to one of the institution’s thirteen specialized cancer clinics. Each cancer clinic is home to its own group of world-class doctors and physicians. Those diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer are referred to AZCC’s Southwest Lung Cancer Program, which provides personalized treatments for those diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.

After an in-depth diagnosis, the physicians at AZCC collaborate on assembling a small team of world-class cancer specialists to provide the most well-rounded treatment regimen possible. These teams include experts from radiology, medical oncology, pathology, hematology, surgery, and supportive care.

The Medical oncologists at AZCC provide lung cancer and mesothelioma patients with novel treatments that can directly kill the cancer with very minimal damage to surrounding, healthy tissue. On top of this, those patients are also provided access to thoracic surgeries such as VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery), which is considered an effective and minimally invasive treatment for asbestos-related conditions. In terms of radiation therapy, the treatments offered include TomoTherapy and stereotactic body radiosurgery. If desired, the patient is invited to take part in forward-thinking clinical trials that determine the next steps in cancer care.

Doctors at Arizona Cancer Center

The University of Arizona Cancer Center hosts a number of world-renown cancer doctors who specialize in the study and treatment of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Dr. Linda Garland, director of the Lung Cancer Program, is a medical oncologist who has dedicated much of her career to developing novel treatments for chest ailments such as mesothelioma. Thanks to her leadership, the team at AZCC is continuously discovering new facts about the diseases and evaluating revolutionary treatment regiments. These treatment regimens include novel chemotherapy agents as well as super-targeted treatments that spare healthy tissue surrounding the cancer.

With assistance from Dr. Alexander Chi and Dr. Garland, Jonathan Daniel, M.D., successfully orchestrated the first extrapleural pneumonectomy in Arizona. This ground-breaking treatment includes the removal of the tumor, along with the lung, part of the heart, and diaphragm, and very significantly improves survival for patients.

Due to the small, precise incisions that this treatment utilizes, the patient’s time within the hospital is greatly reduced, and also lowers the risk of infection. With the extrapleural pneumonectomy, physicians are able to save the majority of the lung’s pleural lining, which lowers the chances of the surgeon leaving cancerous tissue behind.

Research

The Arizona Cancer Center has always maintained a strong emphasis upon clinical trials; these trials allow patients to have access to brand-new treatments and pharmaceuticals that are not available for the general public. The center also maintains a rigid dedication towards cancer prevention and control; AZCC is at the forefront of prevention research for lung cancers, as well as cancers of the prostate, colon, breast, and skin.

Receiving over seventy million dollars in research funding every year, AZCC transforms discoveries made in the laboratory into care accessible to the patient. The research at AZCC has facilitated the conception of seventeen pharmaceutical and bio-technology companies.

The cancer center contains seventy-three labs reserved exclusively for cancer research, and employs hundreds of doctors, scientists, technicians, and students to investigate the molecular and cellular changes in the body that develop into cancer.