What is the NCCCP?

The cancer center at Lehigh Valley Health Network has been selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to lead our region in the rapid delivery of evidence-based cancer care and clinical trials of new cancer treatments.

The NCI established the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) to extend NCI-supported scientific discoveries to community hospitals. As an NCCCP cancer center, Lehigh Valley Health Network is part of a national network of community cancer programs selected to expand cancer research and deliver the highest quality cancer care to more Americans in their home communities. Because the majority of U.S. patients are treated at community hospitals, integrating the latest scientific advances with state-of-the-art patient care is expected to improve cancer outcomes among the diverse populations served by NCCCP. Our health network is the only NCI-selected cancer center in the Lehigh Valley region, and one of only 30 NCCCP sites in the United States.

The NCI has supported research and patient treatment programs at NCI-designated cancer centers since the 1970s. These centers are large academic research institutions located in major U.S. cities. However, the NCI estimates that only 15 percent of U.S. cancer patients receive care at these centers; 85 percent are initially diagnosed and start their first course of treatment at community cancer centers. For example, Lehigh Valley Health Network has more experience with breast, lung, colorectal and primary brain cancers, lymphoma, leukemia and melanoma than the NCI-designated Fox Chase Cancer Center, and sees more lung, colorectal cancers, lymphoma and leukemia than the NCI designated Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University. » more

Lehigh Valley Health Network has been delivering cancer care to our community for more than 40 years. Comprehensive screening, prevention, treatment and supportive care services expanded with the building of the John and Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center at the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest campus in 1993. Since our affiliation with NCI, patients now have expanded options for their cancer care. For example,

• Our health network is making it easier for medically underserved persons in our community to receive cancer prevention and treatment services at Lehigh Valley Hospital-17th Street.
• Many patients seen at the cancer center are assigned a patient navigator – a specially trained expert who facilitates assistance for financial support, transportation and other cancer support services—especially those supportive care services needed for symptom management, survivorship support and end-of-life care.
• Through research partnerships with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and other NCCCP sites, our health network is providing more opportunities for patients to participate in cancer clinical trials, potentially benefiting by receiving treatments not yet available to the general public.

The two primary goals of the NCCCP are:

1. To deliver state of art quality cancer care.
2. To increase patient access to treatment discoveries through cancer
   clinical trials.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is improving the delivery of high quality cancer care through multidisciplinary consultations, cancer risk and genetic assessment, and care coordination through electronic medical records.

• Multidisciplinary consultations (MDC) are available for newly diagnosed patients with lung and breast cancer. Within one week of diagnosis, a patient and family can be seen by a multidisciplinary team of specialists that includes surgical, medical and radiation oncologists. All patients seen in the MDC are assigned a personal navigator who will facilitate making appointments, gathering records, answering questions from the patient and family, and help explain the treatment plan recommended by the team.
• Cancer risk and genetic counselors are available for patients and families who may be at risk for cancers that can be inherited.
• Cancer care at our health network is increasingly coordinated through electronic medical records to achieve better communication and care coordination for the patient.

In partnership with the NCI, our health network is committed to discovering better and more personalized cancer treatments through clinical cancer research.

• With support from the NCI, Lehigh Valley Health Network is developing the ability to evaluate each individual’s cancer for specific genetic signatures that can be attacked by drugs that target the abnormal genes in the patient’s cancer. This results in treatment that is personalized for the individual patient.
• In partnership with the NCI-designated Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., our health network is bringing new research trials to the Lehigh Valley.
• By expanding its bilingual staff our health network is decreasing barriers for Hispanic patients in our community to participate in the latest clinical research trials.

Through innovative research and the development of ever better interventions to prevent and treat cancer, NCI brings together basic and clinical researchers, patients, physicians, caregivers, policymakers and others in a common cause to reduce the worldwide burden of cancer. The NCI has selected the cancer center at Lehigh Valley Health Network to work with the NCCCP in delivering state-of-the-art cancer care and the latest treatment discoveries through clinical trials. As a NCCCP cancer center, Lehigh Valley Health Network is committed to decreasing the cancer burden among the patients and families in our community.

This page last updated 1/4/12 09:34 AM