Overview
Our Comprehensive Cancer Center was the first in the area to achieve accreditation from the American College of Surgeons as a comprehensive community hospital cancer program – making us one of just over 1,400 cancer programs to receive this honor in the U.S.  

This translates into an outstanding continuum of care that includes leading edge diagnosis and treatments, talented staff, and the best medical equipment and support available.  

Services
In addition to the menu at left, the Comprehensive Cancer Center offers the following innovative programs and services:

Inpatient Oncology Unit
Provides specialized care and service to adult patients and their families. A predominantly registered-nurse staff is specially trained to care for cancer patients, from newly diagnosed patients to palliation, in private, home-like rooms. The Oncology Unit also provides care for patients with hematological disorders, including AIDS/HIV.

Screenings and Seminars
Regularly offered information sessions and cancer screenings cover everything from breast cancer to prostate cancer, making early detection our most important step in the fight against the disease.

Psychosocial Assessment
An oncology clinical social worker assists the oncology staff in assessing psychosocial needs of inpatient and outpatient cancer patients upon arrival to identify needs and recommend services, such as Spiritual Care, Integrative Therapies, support groups, transition programs, and palliative care or hospice services.

Clinical Resource Management

Registered nurses and medical social workers identify services to meet ongoing patient and family needs. These include:
• Arranging for equipment needs, home health care, hospice nursing assistance, and other community resource referrals as appropriate
• Reviewing financial concerns and making appropriate referrals
• Counseling the patient and/or family during times of emotional crisis
• Discussing end of life decisions with the patient/family and providing counseling as appropriate
• Coordinating discharge planning

Cancer Resource Nurse
A healthcare professional who serves to support and educate cancer patients and their families. All Cancer Resource Nurses are experienced oncology nurses with an extensive knowledge of cancer, cancer treatments, and local community resources available to patients and their families. Nationally certified through the Oncology Nursing Society, this nurse can help you or your loved one manage the side effects of treatment.

Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
A certified wound and ostomy nurse involved with the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic wounds and the management of patients with ostomies and continent diversions.

Cancer Registry
As required by law, newly diagnosed cancer cases are reported to the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry as well as to the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer’s National Cancer Database. In accordance with guidelines set by the American College of Surgeons, the Registry’s primary functions are collection of relevant data on all malignant and selected benign neoplasms; continued lifetime follow-up; distribution of cancer information; and participation in hospital-based, state, and national studies and research projects.

Pathology
Pathologists from Piedmont Pathology provide 24-hour service for intraoperative frozen section diagnoses, reports on tissue biopsies, and resection specimens to determine malignancies; the size and type of cancer; grading and staging of the tumor; and molecular features of the tumor.

Laboratory Services
CVMC’s clinical laboratory performs diagnostic testing and monitoring, including blood tests, chemical analysis, microbiological services, and blood bank services. The lab is Joint Commission-accredited and CAP (College of American Pathologists) certified with distinction; the Blood Bank is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks.

Multidisciplinary Team
Multidisciplinary team meetings, held three times a week for Inpatient Oncology and weekly for Radiation Therapy and Infusion Centers, allow the oncology staff to discuss information about patients, determine treatment, and identify discharge needs.

Integrative Therapies
Complementary and alternative medicines may be used as curative treatments, to manage symptoms of cancer, or to reduce stress. The therapies currently practiced at Catawba Valley Medical Center include Healing Touch, Massage Therapy, Music Therapy, Pet Therapy, and Nutrition Therapy.

Pharmacy
Operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Drug distribution is supported by services that optimize drug therapy and assure patient safety.

Spiritual Care
Assures that spiritual care and emotional support are available to help cancer patients and their families find the strength, comfort, hope and meaning they need to transcend the challenges of the illnesses they face. Our Parish Nursing program provides patients with assistance in meeting treatment appointments, in clarifying possible side effects and expectations of treatment, providing spiritual support from the patient's traditional faith, and offering support with any necessary lifestyle modifications. When Hospice or Home Health is involved, parish nurses can serve as complementary care team members who primarily focus on spiritual and emotional support.

Nutrition Care Services
Provides food and nutrition services specially designed to meet the unique nutritional needs of oncology patients. This department analyzes the expected outcomes of nutritional therapy, ensures that each patient receives adequate oral intake to meet individual nutritional needs, and works to minimize nutrition-related side effects common to current cancer treatments.

Location
Catawba Valley Medical Center, Sixth Floor