From left, Dr. Nadia Ramdin, Fredricka Backman, Pet Therapist, and Dr. Karen Backman.

Welcome to the Cancer Care Center at Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where patients are provided with cancer treatment and support, detection and diagnosis, plus a full range of educational and counseling services. The Center is open Monday through Friday by appointment. Please let us know your preference for visits and we will tailor your appointments to your needs.

The Center provides state-of-the-art expert care in a convenient and healing environment. The Center is staffed by two board-certified hematologists/oncologists, a social worker dedicated to the unique needs of cancer patients, and nurses with a special interest in caring for patients with cancer, several of whom have certification in oncology nursing.

The staff's attention to quality has earned national recognition and accreditation by The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer since 1978, one of only10 programs in the state. The Center provides educational materials, support groups and coordination of care with radiation services and surgical specialists in Augusta, Bangor, Bath, Portland and Boston.

If you're a visitor to our area, the Center can coordinate your treatment with your oncologist or hematologist.

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You will be welcomed to the Center through a reception and waiting area. You will register here and, should there be a wait between exams and appointments, this is where you can make yourself comfortable. Friends of family who accompany you also are welcome to wait here, or they may join you in other areas of the Center.

Your privacy is assured at the Center. There are three private exam rooms where you will meet your physician and discuss your treatment. You and your family also may speak confidentially with our social worker in these quiet spaces.

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The main chemotherapy room has six comfortable chairs where you may read, chat with others, or simply enjoy the views of Penobscot Bay while you receive your therapy. A DVD player and a small library of DVDs  also are available for your viewing pleasure. For the comfort of our patients, the Cancer Care Center has individual televisions, with headphones, at each chemotherapy chair.

Whenever you need or desire privacy during treatment, curtains may be drawn around your chair. The Center's Family Room offers refreshments, a television and a small reference library for patients and their families.  For even more information, the Penobscot Bay Medical Center library is open to the public. Patricia Kahn, the librarian would be pleased to help.

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We will help you to understand your disease and your options for its management and assist you in coordinating your treatment. The doctors and staff of the Cancer Care Center will stay in close contact with your primary care physician, surgeon and others who are treating you.

Our staff also will coordinate any chemotherapy or other treatment that you may need at home or at another facilitity. And if you require radiation therapy, we will refer you to one of the regional centers with which we have long-standing relationships and can assist you in arranging transportation.  

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 "When I found out I had cancer,  it really helped to know I had
a team of health professionals to turn to
for information and support."

NEW: The PBMC Cancer Registry provides data management services  to comply with the national Institutes of Health and the State of Maine reporting regulations for the National Cancer Data Base. 

The PBMC Cancer Registry started collecting data in 1988 and contains data for 6,130 cases; 305 new cases were entered in 2007. Today, cancer registration gives the methodology for collection of information about ther occurance of cancer. The data collected includes demographic, the type of tumor, extent of disease at diagnosis, types of treatment received  and the outcomes of treatment. Also, the registry collects limited information on patients seen in consultation but who do not receive treatment.

Updated: 12/30/08