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Vermont Cancer Center

Contact Information

89 Beaumont Avenue Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-4414

The Vermont Cancer Center is located in Burlington, Vermont, and is a part of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Founded in 1974, the Vermont Cancer Center is staffed by 120 physicians and researchers partnered with Fletcher Allen Healthcare to offer translational, basic, and clinical care to cancer patients in Vermont and northern New York.

The facilities of the Cancer Center have been located on the university’s campus for most of its history; in 2001, core laboratories for the center were moved into the Health Science Research Facility on the College of Medicine campus. An outpatient center at Fletcher Allen was completed in 2005, and a clinical facility, an ambulatory care center, and an education and conference center are located on the medical campus for the Cancer Center’s use. The center is a member of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and meets the requirements for the Approved Cancer Program.

Much of a patient’s treatment takes place through Fletcher Allen Healthcare, a direct partner with the Vermont Cancer Center. The VCC uses radiation, medical, and surgical oncology to treat a broad range of cancers. Persons with mesothelioma may benefit from treatment at the center due to the center’s extensive research and treatment of the disease. The center has worked with new approaches to identifying risk factors for mesothelioma, as well as oxidant metabolism as a therapeutic agent. Center-based studies into tumor suppressor genes that are mutated in patients with mesothelioma were reported in 2009, during a symposium on lung cancer. In addition to cutting-edge research into mesothelioma, treatments available for lung cancers include video-assisted thorascopic surgery, linear accelerator radiation therapy, percutaneous radiofrequency ablation or cryo-ablation of lung nodules, and on-site or home chemotherapy. Robotic-assisted surgery, immune therapy, hormone therapy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, neurosurgery, pain management, and hospice care are also specialties at the Cancer Center. Clinical trials for a variety of cancers are offered through the hospital, as is information on national trials being dictated by other entities. Patients interested in trials should contact a clinical research supervisor.

There are many patient support programs and services available through the Vermont Cancer Center. A mentoring program seeks to align cancer survivors with new patients, to offer advice and guidance and to lessen any negative impacts of a cancer diagnosis. Psychological consultations, patient support program emergency funds, and survivor/caregiver luncheons are all open to patients and their families.

Massage therapy and yoga are presented to patients as a means to ease stress and relax. Nutritional counseling aims to teach patients about how to reach proper dietary needs while undergoing treatment. The American Cancer Society sponsors a number of programs and services through the center as well.

Road to Recovery helps patients without transportation obtain outpatient treatment. The Look Good….Feel Better program supplies wigs, turbans, and other products to women whose appearances may have been affected by radiation or chemotherapy. The Hope Lodge program provides a place for patients and their families to stay during long-distance outpatient treatment trips.

In addition to these services, a number of specialized support groups are available within the community and through the hospital. Groups are accessible to women with breast cancer, men with prostate cancer, caregivers, leukemia and lymphoma patients, and survivors of all cancers. Meeting times and places for groups may vary, and interested patients should contact program facilitators.