MUSC Florence joins the Hollings Cancer Network

Cancer touches everyone in South Carolina.

A member of your family, a co-worker or the person you sit next to in church may be fighting for their life.

For me, it’s a battle I faced within my family: a devastating diagnosis that brought agonizing questions and heart-wrenching uncertainty, running on a loop in my mind. How much time do we have left together? What about all the things we haven’t done? How much pain and suffering are ahead?

 

As a hospital CEO, I’ve always upheld the highest standards of care for the patients we serve. As a caregiver, I expect no less.

When cancer struck my loved one, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, a long-trusted resource exceeding the expectations of South Carolinian patients battling cancer, was the only option for us. From cutting-edge, innovative treatments, driven by the research and dedication of our world-class providers and scientists, to emerging immunotherapy and clinical trials, we take great pride in what we have been able to do for patients, of all ages, and their families.

My experience, as well as countless others in the Pee Dee seeking quality care locally, led to the recent announcement to integrate the MUSC Health Florence Medical Center into the Hollings Cancer Network. Now, we can celebrate expanded cancer care resources and access to advanced cancer research, more than 200 clinical trials, treatment and prevention services close to home in the Pee Dee.

Hollings Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center in South Carolina and only one of 72 in the country. As MUSC Health Florence Medical Center joins the network, physicians will offer patients across the Pee Dee, from any cancer center, leading-edge cancer care.

And that is not all.

MUSC and Hollings Cancer Center are trailblazers when it comes to clinical trials and specialized treatments, such as immunotherapies, which have a real impact in local communities.

For example, the MUSC Florence Research Center, located at MUSC Health-Florence, is one of four community-based clinical research sites across the Southeast chosen to participate in the Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED) Initiative.

Led by Yale University’s Yale School of Medicine, known for its clinical trials, the initiative is forging a clinical trial network of community-based sites to attract more people of color to participate in clinical research right here in the Pee Dee. The potential to improve outcomes and eliminate health disparities for patients in clinical trials is essentially unlimited.

The MUSC Health Florence Medical Center will be able to deliver a critical and comprehensive continuum of care, meeting the needs of all patients – regardless of where they start their cancer treatment – with various cancer diagnoses, from early detection and treatment to follow-up care and support services. With this new base in Florence, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center will be able to work with all oncologists in the Pee Dee region.

This means starting lifesaving conversations about cancer prevention, including education regarding risk factors and screenings, that can and will improve the overall health of the Pee Dee. When we educate people on cancer risk factors, as is part of our mission at MUSC and Hollings, we facilitate early detection, improving prognoses and treatment outcomes.

Even as cancer touches the lives of so many in our state, there is hope because MUSC Hollings Cancer Center will improve the lives of South Carolinians for generations to come and with this new extension into Florence, the Pee Dee is well positioned for the future in the fight against cancer.

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