At the Knox Community Hospital’s Center for Cancer Care, about 70% of patients are treated for cancers, including solid tumors or blood cancer, the other 30% for various benign blood disorders.
“The most common cancers that we encounter in Knox County and treat here at KCH are breast cancers, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer (and) lymphomas. Typically, patients are referred to the Cancer Center by their primary care provider. They undergo standard diagnostic evaluation with CT Scans, MRIs and PET/CT scans followed by a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of cancer. The hospital offers all of these diagnostic services to allow patients to have these tests done locally,” said Dr. Husain Rasheed, medical oncologist at Knox Community Hospital.
“Once a cancer is diagnosed and staging evaluation has been completed, then treatment is initiated depending on the type and stage of cancer. For certain types of cancer, patients with early stage cancer will undergo surgery at KCH by one of our surgeons. If a surgery cannot be performed at KCH, we will collaborate with the surgeons at OhioHealth, the James Cancer Center or one of the other Columbus hospitals,” he said.
“The good news is that treatment for many types of cancer has advanced dramatically in recent years. In addition to chemotherapy, there are new and very promising treatments – immunotherapy, as well as oral targeted therapies that work significantly better than chemotherapy in many situations. Treatment has become more personalized and tailored depending on what kind of genetic markers and mutations each person’s cancer has. We have the ability to check each person’s cancer for genetic markers and then tailor the therapy according to the markers in their cancer. At KCH, we are able to offer all these newly approved therapies for all different types of cancers,” Rasheed said.
Cancer treatment usually consists of a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy immunotherapy and oral targeted therapy, depending on the stage and type of cancer.
“Immunotherapy is a new form of treatment in which medicines are given that remove the brakes from the immune system and make the immune system attack and target the cancer. Immunotherapy is very effective in many patients. KCH has now been using immunotherapy in their Center for Cancer Care since it was first approved in 2014," Rasheed said. “We are using it for many different types of cancer and seeing very favorable results. With Immunotherapy, some patients will have dramatic shrinkage in their cancers which leads to very good control of their disease.”
Many times, cancer patients can be treated with pills. These new oral treatments can be quite expensive.
“We have very efficient nurse cancer navigators who work with patients to ensure that these oral medications can be obtained for them regardless of the cost. For those patients where affordability becomes an issue, the cancer navigators will work to obtain these medications with assistance from various charitable foundations that will often cover the co-pays or the entire cost,” Rasheed said.
KCH offers all of these cutting-edge treatments for people of Knox and surrounding counties. The Center for Cancer Care at KCH is accredited by the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a program of the American College of Surgeons. The CoC is a national professional organization in the United States that establishes standards to ensure quality and comprehensive cancer care delivery. It conducts an on-site survey at KCH every three years to ensure that the program is meeting national standards of high quality cancer care. KCH has held this accreditation since 2010.
