Leading-Edge Care, Close to Home

Cancer care isn’t just about delivering the right treatments to your body. It’s also about helping you face the challenges to your mind and emotions. It’s about making sure you have a community that supports you and resources that help you, including:

• Genetic counseling.
• Healing care.
• Medicine management counseling.
• Patient navigation.
• Rehabilitation services.
• Support groups.
• Survivorship program.

We know cancer treatment can feel overwhelming. We want you to focus on getting better, not trying to keep tests, treatment and doctors straight. A member of your care team or a personal nurse navigator will guide you through every step of treatment, including:

• Working side-by-side with you to ensure compassionate, supportive and individualized care.
• Scheduling/coordinating appointments, and helping to reduce the amount of time from diagnosis to treatment.
• Providing education and support to you and your family.
• Facilitating/coordinating care provided by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, including medical, surgical and radiation oncology consults.
• Working on behalf of you and your family to remove possible obstacles to care, including insurance issues, medication assistance or lack of transportation.
• Communicating with your physician and helping to communicate the physician’s plan of care.

When you choose us for your cancer treatment, you’re choosing a team with a track record of success. ProMedica Cancer Institute’s accreditations and nationally recognized services help prove the quality of our care.

We’ve put together a highly experienced team of cancer specialists, including:

• Hepatologists.
• Hepatopancreaticobiliary (liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile duct) surgeons.
• Medical oncologists.
• Radiation oncologists.
• Radiologists

Risk factors for liver cancer may include:

• Age (over 60).
• Gender (more prevalent in men).
• History of hepatitis B or C.

Risk factors for gallbladder or bile duct cancer may include:

• Drinking too much alcohol.
• Exposure to Aflatoxin (food tainted with fungus).
• History of hepatitis B or C.

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer may include:

• Diabetes.
• High-fat diet.
• History of pancreatitis.
• Obesity.
• Tobacco use.

Early symptoms of liver cancer may include:

• Chills.
• Fatigue.
• Fever.
• Night sweats.

Late-stage symptoms may include:

• Decreased appetite.
• Weight loss.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Jaundice.
• Dark urine.
• Upper abdominal pain and/or bloating.
• White stools.

Symptoms of gallbladder or bile duct cancer may include:

• Abdominal pain.
• Change in stool patterns.
• Decreased appetite.
• Fatigue.
• Jaundice.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Weight loss.

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer may include:

• Abdominal pain.
• Change in stool patterns.
• Decreased appetite.
• Fatigue.
• Increased blood sugar levels.
• Jaundice.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Weight loss.

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment given intravenously (through a vein) to stop the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs work by killing the cells or stopping cell division. It may be given before or after surgery.

Immunotherapy, also called biotherapy, uses substances made from living organisms to help the body fight cancer and other diseases. These substances may be synthetic or natural.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to shrink and kill cancer cells. It’s usually given after surgery or chemotherapy to lower the risk of the cancer coming back.

Many types of cancer require surgery to remove the tumors and nearby tissue.

Your surgeon may recommend liver resection surgery for early-stage liver cancer. This involves taking out the cancerous part of the liver (partial hepatectomy). Because the liver renews itself, the healthy portion of the liver can grow back in a matter of weeks. For later-stage liver cancer, a liver transplant surgery may be needed.

Pancreatic cancer is often treated with a Whipple procedure. A surgeon removes the head of the pancreas, the first part of the small intestine, the gallbladder and the bile duct.

Biliary cancers may be treated by removing the gallbladder and bile duct.