MUSC Health Florence brings expanded cancer services to the Pee Dee community

A new development involving cancer care in the Pee Dee region has the potential to affect a lot of people. An average of 780 patients in Florence County are diagnosed with cancer each year – and that’s just one of several counties a new Hollings Cancer Network site on the campus of the MUSC Health Florence Medical Center will serve.

A doctor already caring for cancer patients in the region, Wael Ghalayini, M.D., is thrilled about the announcement. “As the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Carolina, Hollings brings a tremendous array of resources – advanced treatments, clinical trials and cutting-edge research – to our local patients.”

 

Jay Hinesley, CEO of the MUSC Health Florence Health Division, said the goal is to work with local doctors and patients to ensure they have access to the best care and treatments available. “By partnering with all health care organizations in the Pee Dee region, we can draw upon MUSC Hollings Cancer Center as a long-trusted resource that exceeds the expectations of South Carolinian patients battling cancer.”

That reference to “partnering with all health care organizations” is no accident. Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., director of Hollings Cancer Center, said the new facility’s team will “work alongside trusted care providers here.” The goal, in his words, is to “ease the burden of cancer in South Carolina.”

 

The Hollings Cancer Network site in Florence will offer multiple options, including:

• Medical oncology, which involves preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.
• The use of radiation to fight cancer.
• Gynecological oncology, focusing on cancer of women’s reproductive systems.
• Surgical specialties, including breast, urology and thoracic surgery.
• Access to clinical trials.

The new site will build on MUSC Health Florence Medical Center’s existing cancer care. The hospital already offers surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, imaging services, pain management, financial counseling and more.

Hinesley said news about the Hollings site in Florence filled him with pride. “This new facility will provide a critical and comprehensive expansion to our community’s ability to elevate and expand the level of cancer care close to home.”