About the Cancer Center
The Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is located in one of Harvard Medical School’s major teaching and research institutions. At this medical center scientists and doctors have made many discoveries that have improved cancer care. And because we have always understood the physical and emotional toll of a cancer diagnosis our specialists take the time to listen to your concerns, answer your questions and develop unique support systems. Together, we can help you make the best decisions about your care and deliver treatment with unparalleled compassion.
Guiding Principles
Our philosophy in the Cancer Center is that patients are best served when their problem is valuated by teams of specialists (surgeons, radiation therapists and medical oncologists) and care plans are developed that fit each individual’s medical situation (personalized care). Technical excellence is our standard, and we are proud of the many doctors on our staff who are second to none. It is important that patients are engaged from the beginning with every facet of their care, receive thorough explanations of treatment options, and appropriate guidance to help reach optimal decisions about therapy. An example is that of a woman with breast cancer who may have a choice of being treated with breast conserving surgery or a mastectomy. Though guided by her caregivers, the choice is ultimately hers. At the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center, we help patients and families understand and weigh their own treatment options, and help sort through the medical and very personal decision-making process people face.
Acclaimed Physicians and Scientists
Ours is a team effort. We assemble leading experts – physician scholars and researchers – to help tailor, in one sitting, the best possible treatment plan for you. In our multidisciplinary clinics, patients see all key specialists in one visit for easy access and coordinated planning. Our numerous patient support services can help sustain you and your family during and after treatment.
World-Class Academic Center
Peace of mind is so crucial for patients and families undergoing treatment, who want easy and convenient access to the very best care and clinical trials. As a Harvard teaching and tertiary medical center, our patients can be confident that they are receiving therapies that are today’s gold standard of care – or innovative treatment that will soon become tomorrow’s rule of practice.
Award-Winning Care
BIDMC's cancer program is the only program in Massachusetts, and one of only 34 in the country, to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. The commission is a consortium of professional organizations that includes the American Cancer Society, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American College of Radiology, the Oncology Nursing Society and members of the American College of Surgeons. The commission's goal is to reduce cancer death and disease by promoting education, setting standards, and monitoring the quality of care that is delivered.
BIDMC continues to earn high marks in patient satisfaction surveys for our clinical excellence in cancer care and related services.
Additional Achievements
Still other distinguishing strengths of our Cancer Center include:
- Recognized in 2008 by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s top hospitals in cancer care.
- A large number of cancer specialists are recognized as Best in Boston for 2008
- The first center in New England – and one of only a select number of hospitals in the country – to offer CyberKnife, a dynamic new radiation therapy system that is a noninvasive, radiosurgical alternative to open surgery for cancerous and other tumors. BIDMC’s Keith C. Field CyberKnife Center uses precise image-guidance and a multi-jointed robotic arm to deliver concentrated beams of radiation from multiple directions.
- Advanced imaging systems – including Boston’s first PET/CT scanner – for early cancer detection, less invasive breast imaging, advanced gastrointestinal diagnostic techniques, virtual colonoscopy and more.
- Novel breast reconstruction techniques that spare muscle, and research into personalized vaccines that harness the patient’s own immune system to target and destroy tumor cells.
- Genetic counseling and testing of high-risk patients, primarily for breast, ovarian and colon cancers, in order to help care for those who have cancer and advise unaffected family members on how best to stay well.
- Leadership in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, which enhances the many strengths of our cancer programs.
- Our caring approach with numerous “heart and soul” programs and services including geriatric care, prevention, social work, palliative services, and our community health centers, all of which are essential to the lifelong well-being of patients, families and the community.
