When you receive a cancer diagnosis, your world becomes filled with complex emotions, questions, information and decisions. But you won’t be alone on the journey. California Pacific Medical Center has a long tradition of providing advanced, multidisciplinary cancer care with a personalized approach. The CPMC Cancer Center is certified by the American College of Surgeons, and we treat more than 2,400 patients every year.
Our nationally recognized cancer specialists, highly trained oncology nurses and skilled technicians work together so you have access to leading-edge treatments, appropriate clinical trials and a 24/7 multidisciplinary support team.
From day one of your diagnosis, our Cancer Nurse Navigator Program provides you with a single, compassionate and knowledgeable point of contact who can guide you through everything from genetic testing and counseling to financial concerns. And as your key medical partner, your oncologist will coordinate and oversee your medical care from your first appointment through to survivorship.
Leaders in Advanced Cancer Technology
With the CPMC Cancer Center, you have access to the forefront of technologic advances in cancer care. Our areas of innovation include:
- Radiosurgery — Using equipment available only to a handful of healthcare providers, our doctors can treat brain tumors and cancers in all parts of the body with unsurpassed accuracy—all with fewer side effects, greater comfort and improved outcomes.
- Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) — This 3-D breast cancer screening equipment significantly improves cancer detection and reduces callback rates for findings that are not cancer.
- Endomicroscopy — Sutter Health network physicians introduced a tiny microscope smaller than the tip of a pen that allows doctors to better identify pre-cancerous or malignant lesions during endoscopic procedures, and in some cases immediately perform what can amount to life-saving treatment—a major advance in early cancer detection.
- Da Vinci Robotic-Assisted Surgical System — This technology enhances your cancer surgeon’s skill by providing a magnified, three-dimensional view of a surgery site, accessed through micro-incisions, allowing his or her hand to make extremely precise movements—particularly valuable for prostate, gynecological and kidney cancers.
- Varian RapidArc Radiosurgery TrueBeamTM STx system — Sutter Health radiation oncologists recently began using this new technology—a highly precise, faster and noninvasive way of excising tumors using shaped high-energy X-ray beams.
- Prostate Brachytherapy — Thanks to Sutter’s early adoption of this technology, some men can receive definitive prostate cancer treatment with a single outpatient procedure.
Pushing the Clinical Research Envelope
We’re committed to participating in clinical trials to help you—and thousands of others—in the fight against cancer. Since the 1950s, research centers throughout the Sutter Health network have conducted hundreds of groundbreaking studies leading to medical innovations in cancer and other diseases. Current projects include participation in trials of a novel immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, as well as targeted approaches for liver and ovarian cancers.
Awards for Exceptional Cancer Care
We’re proud to be at the forefront of cancer care and research. Here are just a few recent achievements at CPMC.
- Accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program of the American College of Surgeons. This recognizes that our program is held to the highest standards of care for patients with diseases of the breast.
- Designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.
- We have maintained a 93 percent overall follow-up rate and a 100 percent five-year follow-up rate with patients tracked in our cancer registry.
- Our new survivorship program allows patients to receive a comprehensive exit interview at the end of their treatment, including treatment summary, follow-up instructions and answers to quality of life questions.
