rEdEFInIng - Stanford Hospital & Clinics

oNCoLoGY
STANfoRd WomEN’S CANCER CENTER
In the summer of 2011, the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center will open
its doors. The Center will considerably enlarge the current clinical space
dedicated to the treatment of women with breast and gynecologic cancers,
providing individualized and compassionate care for the whole patient.
The Women’s Cancer Center will begin each woman’s journey toward
survivorship with concierge services to help her navigate and manage her
treatment. Support groups for patients and family members will be part of
a care package that includes counseling, palliative care, survivorship
services and more. In an atmosphere with warmth and welcome at its core,
founded upon the advanced clinical trials and ground-breaking translational
research for which Stanford is known, the Women’s Cancer Center programs
will feature an integrative healing approach to strengthen the body, educate
the mind and nurture the spirit.
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better
JuST STEPS FROM THE STANFORD CANCER
CENTER, THE NEW STANFORD WOMEN’S CANCER
CENTER WIll PROVIDE RESOuRCES, SuPPORT
AND ExPERTISE TO WOMEN WITH BREAST AND
gYNECOlOgIC CANCERS.
Return to TOC
options FOr mOrE PATIEnTs
“Thanks to innovations and new treatment
methods, we can really offer a more positive
experience to nearly every person we treat.”
Dr. Frederick Dirbas
Breast Cancer Surgeon
With no family history of cancer, Polly Weinheimer was
surprised when, after a routine check-up in 2002, her
doctor advised her to contact Stanford cancer surgeon
Dr. Frederick Dirbas for a breast cancer consultation.
“Many patients fear the worst when they receive a cancer
diagnosis,” says Dr. Dirbas. “But thanks to innovations and
new treatment methods, we can really offer a more positive
message and experience to nearly every person we treat.”
Cancer therapies that were once brutally invasive have
evolved. Depending on the size and location of a tumor,
lumpectomies, improved chemotherapy and more targeted
radiation have all eased the treatment burden for patients.
Dr. Dirbas told Polly she was a prime candidate for
intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), a new protocol
to treat the size of tumor she had. When her tumor was
removed, radiation treatment was sent directly into the
tissue surrounding the tumor at the time of the surgery.
The single treatment replaced six weeks of daily radiation
after surgery. Dr. Dirbas was one of just a handful of
physicians, and Stanford Hospital one of a similarly
small group of hospitals, to offer IORT for breast cancer
at that time.
Instead of enduring the exhaustion and discomfort that are
common side effects of multiple radiation sessions, Polly
went home and got back to her life. Today, nearly a decade
after her treatment, she is 70 years old and still enjoying her
favorite hiking trails.
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