The Cancer Committee strives to evaluate cancer services and outcomes that ensure patients receive quality care that meets or exceeds their expectations and the standards set forth by the Commission on Cancer and Southern New Hampshire Health System.

The following are some of the key 2010 quality initiatives:

Breast Cancer Program
The Breast Cancer Program at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center received a Three Year/Full Accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. The Breast Cancer Program at The Medical Center is one of only three breast centers in the state and the only one in southern New Hampshire to earn this accreditation.

Clinical Trials
The Health System offers patients access to the very latest in clinical trials, while giving physicians and researchers the opportunity to study the effectiveness of possible new treatment options.

These clinical trials are sponsored by the National Cancer Institute through the groups called The Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). We are also pursuing research studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2010, our Foundation Hematology/Oncology practice engaged in a total of eight clinical trials. From July 2009 to June 2010, The Health System also participated in a statewide collaborative survey sponsored by Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to assess the "Challenges of New Hampshire Cancer Survivors."

We anticipate increasing the number of studies available to patients in future. Learn more about Open Clinical Trials at The Medical Center.

Comfort Care
Our Palliative Care Program provides a supportive environment for our patients with advanced illness. From symptom and medication management, to advance care planning, our committees, teams and staff work together to enhance the comfort and quality of life for our cancer patients and their families.

In 2010, our goals focused on opportunities to improve symptom and pain management as well as investigate strategies to assist patients and their families to complete Advance Directives in the inpatient or the outpatient setting.

Staff and physician education is considered vital to improving patient satisfaction with pain control. Five Webinars were held over four months to educate nurses. The Medical Director of the Palliative Care Program attended hospitalist meetings and worked one-on-one with physicians covering a variety of pain management modalities.

Many tools were created to assist the physician and nurse to promote comfort including:

Pain management order sets
Safe medication practices
A new pain descriptor tool and medication reassessment after 90 minutes
A brochure to enhance patient knowledge
New videos on Relaxation Channel 57

Tobacco Cessation
A comprehensive Tobacco Treatment Program was developed and piloted in late fall. The Program, scheduled to roll-out in early 2011, provides patients with the opportunity to attend a community class or meet one-on-one with a tobacco treatment specialist after discharge. All three Tobacco Treatment Specialist attended a certification training program at The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Tobacco Treatment, Research, and Training.

Learn about our Tobacco Cessation classes ►

Community Education
The Cancer Committee continues to provide public education and early detection programs and services to keep our community healthy. Our signature program, Community Medical School, received high marks from participants for its classes on “Tobacco Dependence” and “Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility.”  Also this year, over 150 community residents participated in a free skin cancer screening, and 11 in a free prostate cancer screen. Our support groups – Breast Cancer, Man to Man, and Look Good, Feel Good – continue to be active, along with the collaborative Greater Nashua Cancer Support Group meetings held at the Nashua Regional Cancer Center.

Learn about our Community Education classes and Support Groups ►

The 2nd annual American Cancer Society's Greater Nashua Survivor Celebration Brunch reached record numbers with over 231 cancer survivors, their families and loved ones in attendance. The Celebration Brunch is a collaborative between The Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua Regional Cancer Center, and other community organizations. The event was extremely well received with comments like,“Enjoyed coming together with other survivors and caregivers to share our love and joy that we are here.” “Having lost my mother to cancer, it’s nice to see all the success stories” and “Inspirational!”