Mesothelioma Foundations

Mesothelioma Doctors

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Holling Cancer Center

Contact Information

86 Jonathan Lucas Street Charleston, SC 29425
(843) 792-0700

The Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is the largest academic based cancer center in South Carolina. It is also one of the nation’s 65 National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer centers, which means Hollings Center patients can receive cutting edge care, and potentially be part of research studies using the latest cancer treatments. Founded in 1993, the Hollings Center has a number of programs and resources that make it an ideal place to obtain treatment for mesothelioma and other cancers.

Patient Care

Hollings Cancer Center uses a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. In the field of medicine, it is well known that complex problems are best treated when physicians and health care professionals from different disciplines corroborate with each other and with patients and families. Mesothelioma is usually a cancer of the thoracic cavity (everything inside the rib cage and above the diaphragm). The Thoracic Team at Hollings includes thoracic surgeons, a nurse practitioner, and specialists from radiology, pathology, oncology and pulmonary medicine. Multidiciplinary clinics complment the team approach and are also a part of patient care. The Thoracic Cancer Clinic specializes in the treatment of mesothelioma, as well as other thoracic conditions such lung, mediastinal and esophageal cancer.

Research

As an NCI designated center, Hollings Cancer Center participates in NCI research, and its multidisciplinary teams are knowledgeable about clinical trials that their patients may qualify for. Clinical trials are one of the final steps in cancer research. After a long process of testing and refining, these research studies include actual patients to evaluate if a particular medication, preventive strategy, or treatment is safe and effective for those who might benefit. While participation in clinical research should always be carefully considered and discussed with one’s health care provider, it is one way that an aggressive and hard to treat cancer like mesothelioma can be exposed to a treatment that may help. Hollings Center also works extensively in laboratory research to search for and study new potential treatments for cancer.

Support

Hollings Cancer Center offers a variety of support services for cancer patients:

The Patient/Family Resource Center which is staffed with a librarian to help patients and their families learn more about cancer and treatments using literature and the internet.
Genetic counseling for patients who have questions or need to know if family members are at risk for their particular type of cancer.
Social workers for both adults and children who are in the hospital or seen as outpatients.
Integrative Cancer Care which provides prosthetics, wigs and head wear, nutritional counseling and supplements, post surgery camisoles and bras, therapeutic massage, and gift items.
Support for cancer survivors
Financial counseling to help with meeting the costs of care

Education and Outreach

As part of an academic medical center, Hollings Cancer Center helps to train physicians and researchers in cancer care. There are pre and post doctoral training programs in cancer research, and physicians are trained to become specialists in hematology/oncology, radiation oncology, gynecological oncology, and ear, nose, and throat cancer.

Education is also available for patients in the Patient /Family Resource Center, the online Cancer Education Library, video library, and online assessment tools. The Cancer Disparities Program works to make cancer care available to all communities through a mobile health unit, smoking cessation programs, and through “Train the Trainer” cancer education.

It is projected that 23,000 people in South Carolina will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Hollings Cancer Center’s goal is to provide hope, support and cutting edge treatment to South Carolinians with mesothelioma and other cancers.