Philosophy and What Makes Us Different

We do not simply treat diseases, we treat people who have diseases. Up-to-date medical knowledge and science are the cornerstones for quality management of the patient, but we believe that cancer treatment must be delivered with compassion and care. Each patient is given individual care tailor-made for that person.

Commitment to Excellence:

Excellence is achieved by making sure that every patient receives the very best possible treatment. Treatment plans are only designed after an in-depth evaluation of the diagnosis and the anatomic extent of disease. At that point, group consultations are obtained to make sure that the proposed treatment plan is the most effective one available. Our number one priority is the patient, not research. Patients are enrolled in research programs only when we are strongly convinced that the research program is the best treatment option for the patient.

Multi-disciplinary Approach and Group Consultations:

The three major steps to achieve cure of the cancer patients are:

1. Making a definitive and unequivocal diagnosis.
2. Correctly staging anatomic extent of the disease.
3. Having group consultations prior to the initiation of therapy.

In cancer therapy, there is never only one expert; therefore, before we treat any patient, a group consultation of experts is obtained and a treatment plan is designed. This is extremely important to make certain that the patient is receiving the most up-to-date and the most effective treatment. We do not only consult with the best specialists in Texas Medical Center, but we also consult with national and international experts. Also, we collaborate with medical experts who are considered the best in the following fields; surgical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, diagnostic radiology, and other cancer-related fields. Treatment is only designed after this consultation is obtained. This is the guarantee that the patient is receiving the best possible treatment.

At every juncture in the course of therapy, additional group consultations help ensure that the patient is receiving the most cutting-edge cancer therapy. After therapy is planned, chemotherapy is delivered by nurses with extensive experience in cancer nursing. Medications are of the highest quality and are mixed by a specialty pharmacy with vast experience in cancer chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is carefully delivered at the Centre by our staff, who know and care about you. Patients are closely monitored in the clinic as outpatients in private rooms.

Commitment to the Human Dimension:

Medical care should be delivered with knowledge and love; either one alone is inadequate. A major challenge in today's health care climate is to infuse humaneness into medicine. At Salem Oncology Centre, we are proud to deliver medical care in a milieu of humaneness, love and compassion.

Commitment to Hope:

We are committed to fighting and conquering cancer with knowledge, perseverance and hope. We believe that hope is essential in the fight against cancer. Progress in cancer medicine and research is constantly being achieved, with new drugs emerging every month. We believe not only in the power of knowledge, but also in the power of hope. We have taken care of patients with advanced cancer who were thought to be terminal, but who were treated and eventually cured. However, we emphasize that at all times, the patient and his family will be told "the truth and the whole truth".

Commitment to Time:

Excellent care cannot possibly be delivered without the commitment to spending a significant amount of time with patients and their families.Time has become an issue in the current environment of medical practice in America (managed care) as extended doctor visits are usually not reimbursable by third-party payers. We, at Salem Oncology Centre, are committed to giving all the time needed to every patient and his family to enhance the understanding of the disease process treatment and prognosis.

The commitment to excellence and quality care consumes a great amount of time. Much of this time is spent when the patient is not physically in the clinic. This time is spent in discussing the diagnosis with the pathologists, discussing radiological findings with radiologists, and reviewing the most up-to-date research on the patients disease. This time is not usually reimbursed by insurance.We are committed to giving this time because this is the only way the patient will achieve a treatment that will give him the best chance for cure.