2 Midcoast Hospitals Collaborate for Cancer Care 

A group of cancer and other medical specialists from two Midcoast hospitals are working together to review breast cancer cases. This multidisciplinary approach, they say, will result in better patient outcomes, especially in more complicated cases.

Using new technology called 'GoToMeeting,' doctors from Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport and Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick are holding monthly specialized conferences to review the cases. This technology brings the data to the doctors at their own locations via electronic pathology slides and radiologic reports, and they converse via conference call.

"It's great being able to discuss the case with so many specialties available for guidance, said Dr. Nadia Ramdin, an oncologist at the PBMC Cancer Care Center. It makes us less isolated and more able to coordinate care for the patient."

After attending one of the Maine Health-sponsored breast oncology work group meetings, Ramdin and her PBMC colleague Dr. Karen Backman spoke with their counterparts at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick about how they could coordinate care and share resources. PBMC has had a long-standing general tumor conference that meets monthly, but each hospital did not have enough resources on its own to have specialty tumor review boards.

During these breast tumor conferences, physicians from both hospitals review information and discuss treatment options to provide the patients with the best treatment available. This panel of doctors consists of specialists in fields such as medical and surgical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, plastic surgery and more.

"We can discuss controversial cases in a multidisciplinary environment. We can debate about diagnoses in complicated cases," said Backman.

This multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating are reassuring to the patient, who can feel secure knowing that her case has been reviewed by many specialists who have reached a consensus on her treatment. In addition, this new approach can save the patient from having to seek out her own second and third opinions regarding her care.

The first breast tumor conference was held on Sept. 14 with excellent results. The new breast tumor board will continue to meet on the first Monday of every month to discuss cases.

In the future, Drs. Backman and Ramdin hope to get a dedicated telecenter set-up which integrates voice, data and mobile networks in a specialized conference space. They see this as the beginning of a new era in personalized cancer therapy. They plan to expand the offerings of similar virtual conferences to include other specific types of tumor and to participate in specialty tumor boards at top US cancer centers.

The Penobscot Bay Medical Center Cancer Care Department has been in operation since 1999 and provides a full continuum of cancer care services.

"The care you can get here is equal to any top cancer center in the country. We have access, especially with this new technology, to all specialties. We do everything here," said Ramdin.

For more information about the Penobscot Bay Medical Center Cancer Care Department, visit pbmc.org/cancercare. For more information about the breast tumor conferences, please contact Drs. Backman or Ramdin in the Cancer Care Center at 594-8969 or Veronica Cormier in the Cancer Registry 594-8242.