Planting the Seeds of Prevention - Siteman Cancer Center

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Expansion in West County In the past year, the Siteman Cancer Center has expanded its presence on the campus of Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in Creve Coeur, Mo., moving to a building with more public and treatment space, adding radiation oncology services and offering more support and education programs. Siteman has operated a facility in west county since 2001. In July 2008, the facility relocated to Medical Office Building 2 on the hospital campus. The new location, with greatly expanded space, offers a chemotherapy treatment area with 28 infusion chairs; 14 exam rooms for Washington University medical oncologists and surgeons; and a large lobby with a spacious seating area, a resource center and wireless Internet access. On-site lab testing is available as well as access to clinical research studies. In February 2009, treatment programs at the facility were expanded with the addition of radiation therapy. Washington University radiation oncologists who specialize in various types of cancer provide treatment using a new linear accelerator that delivers image-guided therapy. To make patients feel more comfortable, CD players are available in treatment areas. Ceilings in these areas feature backlit art depicting clouds and green trees. Wellness Community Partnership To give cancer patients and their families easier access to programs providing support, education and hope, the Siteman Cancer Center has joined The Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis in a three-year partnership. The partnership, made possible by a grant from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation, allows Siteman to enhance the support programs it currently offers to patients and family members. New programs presented in collaboration with The Wellness Community include support groups and classes such as Music for Recovery, Therapeutic Drumming, Ask an Attorney and Gentle Yoga. “The Wellness Community does an outstanding job of helping those diagnosed with cancer work through difficult 20 The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center Support programs held at the west county facility include a weekly support group, caregiver group and movement class offered in partnership with The Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis. Pet therapy sessions also occur weekly, and additional education and art programs are held throughout the year. Plans for the facility call for the creation of a Siteman’s new West County facility features comfortable family waiting areas with internet access. healing garden, funded by a $540,000 gift from Marilyn Schnuck, a breast cancer survivor who was treated by Siteman physicians in west county. Schnuck made the gift in honor of her husband, the late Edward Schnuck. The garden, which will be visible from treatment areas inside the building, will feature seating areas and a Zen garden. times,” says Teresa Deshields, PhD, manager of psycho- oncology services at Siteman. “With this partnership, Siteman can offer patients a truly comprehensive program that not only helps them better understand cancer but also makes fighting the disease an easier process.” Programs available through the partnership are held at Siteman’s main campus at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and also at Siteman’s location on the campus of Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in Creve Coeur, Mo. The Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis is part of an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free programs to people with cancer and their loved ones.
Imaging Center Grant David Piwnica-Worms, MD, PhD, leads Washington University School of Medicine’s Molecular Imaging Center. An innovative imaging center at the Siteman Cancer Center received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in late 2007. The grant funds a second cycle of research at Washington University’s Molecular Imaging Center, where scientists from different specialties collaborate on projects using positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other radiology techniques to track changes in specific cells, receptors, enzymes and genes. “A number of research projects from the first grant have led to technology and approaches to imaging that we’re now leveraging to answer major biological questions in this second grant,” says center director David Piwnica-Worms, MD, PhD, professor of radiology and of molecular biology and pharmacology. The grant is one of eight awarded nationally. Other recent NCI grant recipients include: • Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, associate director for prevention and control at Siteman, who serves as primary investigator for a four-year, $1.4 million grant to assess genetic and blood biomarkers associated with multiple myeloma. Colditz and colleagues also will examine risk factors for the disease. • Matthew Kreuter, PhD, MPH, co-leader of the prevention and control research program at Siteman, who received a five-year, $8.6 million grant to establish the Health Communication Research Lab at Washington University as one of only five Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research nationwide. (See related article, Page 6.) • Timothy Ley, MD, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine, and colleagues, who received a five-year, $14.3 million renewal of a program project grant to examine the genomics of acute myelogenous leukemia. As part of this work, the group became the first to sequence the complete genome of a cancer patient. (See related article, Page 14.) Patient and Family Advisory Council The Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital has established a patient and family advisory council (PFAC), giving these groups a voice in the care provided at the center. The council, which meets monthly, convened for the first time in October 2008. According to Sharon Lee, manager of the St. Peters center, PFACs give patients and family members an opportunity to share their experience, expertise and insights with the physicians and staff members providing their health care. “They have proved to be invaluable in bringing about change in health care and enhancing quality and safety,” she says. Lee, who has spent the majority of her more than 30-year career serving cancer patients, was enthusiastic about starting a PFAC after attending a conference on the topic in early 2008. That summer she brought together a planning group that met for nine weeks to discuss the council’s mission, vision, goals and bylaws. They decided the group should consist of 18 patients and family members and nine staff liaisons. Timothy Pluard, MD, director of medical oncology at Siteman’s St. Peters location, says the council will provide crucial input. “It’s going to be a tremendous vehicle for improving the care of our patients.” www.siteman.wustl.edu 21
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