WellStar Cancer Network 2016 Annual Report

IMPROVING ACCESS
Cancer is complex, and although there has
never been more knowledge about it than
the present, learning and making decisions
about a disease with which you or a loved
one has recently been diagnosed can be
quite overwhelming. Information about a
specific disease or course of treatment can
be hard to find. In 2015, WellStar addressed
this challenge in several ways. Most visible
among our efforts to improve access to care
and information was the WellStar Cancer
Connect Line, a one-stop phone line where
patients can learn about WellStar Cancer
Network services and be connected directly
to a nurse navigator to plan next steps.
CENTER FOR GENETICS AND
INDIVIDUALIZED MEDICINE
WellStar’s commitment to improving
access to information about cancer
includes information about individual risk
for hereditary cancers. Between five and
ten percent of all cancers are diagnosed
in people with an inherited predisposition
toward increased risk. Through WellStar’s
Genetic Risk Assessment, when possible,
we strike at cancer before it appears.
Our patients first meet
with a genetic counselor
to determine whether
and which genetic
testing is appropriate.
If it is, the patient will
receive genetic testing
for the specific hereditary conditions that
are known to increase the risk of various
cancers. We then recommend specific
courses of action based on the results,
ranging from increased screenings to
lifestyle changes, all the way to prophylactic
medication and procedures. Each patient
receives an individualized plan giving him
or her the best chance for prevention and
early detection.
Having this knowledge contributes to
smart and effective decisions about early
detection, risk reduction and treatment if
it is needed. All of these are essential to
achieving the best outcome. While WellStar
already operates the highest volume cancer
genetics program in the state of Georgia, in
2015 we greatly increased the availability of
genetic counseling and testing as part of our
comprehensive cancer care.
This year WellStar opened the new Center
for Genetics and Individualized Medicine as
part of the newly renovated Cancer Center
at Kennestone Hospital. The space was
built to support the growth of our genetics
program and enhance the experience of our
genetic counseling patients. An additional
genetic counselor position was added in
2015, allowing the already bustling program
to have its busiest year ever. In fiscal year
2016, the program will see 44% more
patients than the prior year, for a total of
over 3,000 patients served.
The Center for Genetics and Individualized
Medicine includes four custom-designed
consultation rooms which include video
monitors that allow patients an innovative
way to view their family history and review
complicated data and testing options with
our genetic counselors. The center has an
in-house lab to ensure quick and efficient
collection of patient specimens during their
appointments. Additional staff has also been
added to support the increased number of
patients seen.
WELLSTAR CANCER NETWORK • 2016 ANNUAL REPORT • 5