Newswise — NAPLES, FLORIDA (Nov. 1, 2023) – Southwest Florida residents will soon have greater access to top-tier cancer care and clinical trials when Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System and South Florida’s only NCI-designated cancer center, opens its Naples office on Nov. 1.
The new Cancer Care Coordination and Support Services Office will be staffed by a nurse navigator and nurse practitioner with expertise in cancer care and research, as well as in navigating clinical trials. Their focus will be simplifying access and streamlining the referral process to Sylvester’s oncologists and its services.
“Our mission is to reduce the human burden from cancer for residents of South Florida and beyond,” said Sylvester Director Stephen D. Nimer, M.D. “Our new Naples office aligns with that mission by expanding our reach and improving access to our exceptional, multi-disciplinary care and services, including clinical trials that often lead to important treatment advances.”
Frank J. Penedo, Ph.D., director of Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care at Sylvester, said the new office will offer benefits beyond facilitating access to exceptional cancer care.
“A cancer diagnosis and its treatment are very stressful experiences for many patients and their families, who face multiple and unique challenges throughout their cancer journey,” he explained. “Our Naples office will serve as a vital resource to Southwest Florida patients and provide supportive care resources ranging from stress management and support groups to educational programs and workshops that help manage lifestyle factors like nutrition and physical activity.”
Survivorship services will also include providing comprehensive survivorship care plans and treatment summaries to assist patients with navigating their follow-up care, Penedo noted.
“These supportive care and survivorship services are often limited and the new Sylvester office will provide access to services addressing the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of cancer patients that are often critical for their recovery and long-term survival,” he said.
“We look forward to the opening of our Naples office to not only better serve our existing patients in Southwest Florida, but also to expand our cancer educational efforts,” said Erin N. Kobetz, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement at Sylvester. “This new office will offer cancer screenings and education focused on early detection to the community, in an effort to help save more lives by preventing cancer and providing care at the earliest possible stages.”
Sylvester’s Naples office will be located in The Chamber Building, 2390 9th St. N. For more information, visit Sylvester.org/Naples or call 239-659-3999.
ABOUT SYLVESTER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth — University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine — is the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center in South Florida. As the area leader in patient-focused cancer research and care, it offers the only phase 1 clinical trials program in the region. Sylvester is ranked a High Performing cancer center – among the nation’s top 10% in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and in colon, lung, ovarian, prostate and uterine cancer surgeries – by U.S. News & World Report. Its network of treatment facilities throughout South Florida features 15 cancer specialty groups, encompassing transplant and cellular therapy, skin, thoracic, gynecological, genitourinary, gastrointestinal, neuro-oncology, sarcoma, pediatric, endocrine, leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma/hematology, breast and head and neck cancers.
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