Chemotherapy is used to treat specific cancers, to control tumor growth when a cure is not possible, to relieve symptoms such as pain, to shrink tumors before surgery or radiation therapy, or to destroy microscopic metastases after tumors are surgically removed.

To combat the side effects of chemotherapy, Memorial Hermann patients receive the newest therapies, including medicines that increase blood counts and prevent nausea and vomiting. The use of these therapies, along with new delivery devices, makes chemotherapy much easier for patients to tolerate.

Outpatient Chemotherapy Services
Our outpatient chemotherapy services are available in convenient locations, close to our patients’ homes and families. Patients receive personalized treatment services using advanced technologies. Comfortable treatment areas, staffed by experienced, caring nurses, offer private recliner infusion chairs and entertainment materials.

Inpatient Chemotherapy Services
Inpatient chemotherapy services are provided in the patient’s private room. All of our oncology nurses have received training on the administration of chemotherapy, ensuring the best patient experience possible. Each patient receives personalized care, in a comfortable, caring environment.

Radiation therapy is the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer as well as some benign diseases. Ionizing radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the areas being treated by damaging the cells’ genetic material, thus making it impossible for the cells to continue to divide and spread. Although radiation damages normal cells as well as cancer cells, we rely on the normal cells to repair themselves sufficiently for the tissues to recover.

External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT)
External beam radiation therapy is generally delivered in the form of either X-rays (photons) or electrons. This therapy can be used to treat cancer that lies deep in the body or close to the skin surface, adjusting the energy of the beam accordingly.

Memorial Hermann uses advanced treatment-planning computer technology and a radiotherapy simulator to pinpoint the areas to be irradiated. Lower-power lasers reproduce treatment setups on a day-to-day basis to accurately reproduce treatment fields. Adjacent normal structures are blocked with a lead shield to prevent damage to healthy areas.

Internal Beam Radiation Therapy (IBRT) or Brachytherapy
High-dose-rate brachytherapy treatments offer a substantial reduction in overall treatment time, combined with the ability to treat cancers from within specific tumor sites, as opposed to delivery of external radiation therapy. This technique provides lower toxicity to normal structures and organs and offers proven benefits for certain patients with breast, endometrial, lung and prostate cancer.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a precise form of radiation therapy, offering pinpoint accuracy of the area to be irradiated while increasing the likelihood of completely eradicating a tumor with targeted dose escalation. This therapy allows for the delivery of higher radiation doses to targeted areas with minimal complications for surrounding healthy tissue.

IMRT uses computer-generated images from CT, MRI and PET scanners to generate three-dimensional images of the patient’s anatomy, resulting in radiation doses that more accurately match the size and shape of a tumor. It is especially useful in attacking tumors very close to or wrapped around critical organs. In other applications, the therapy can increase the chance of completely eradicating a tumor using targeted dose escalation, with a lower dose delivered to adjoining normal tissues and organs.

Our linear accelerators deliver a full range of external beam radiation therapy treatments, enabling us to best tailor treatment to suit the needs of the patient. These linear accelerators deliver a uniform dose of high-energy X-ray to the tumor, destroying the cancer cells while sparing the surrounding normal tissue.

Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
Patients and their organs move, which means the tumor is also moving. This motion can result in the radiation beam missing its target. The most advanced method to evaluate and correct for this motion is to use Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). All patients undergo a CT scan as part of the planning process. The information from the CT scan is then transmitted to a computer in the treatment room, and the radiation oncologist is able to compare the earlier image with images taken just before treatment to see if the treatment needs to be adjusted. If the tumor has shifted, the radiation beams can then be corrected before the radiation treatment. This allows doctors to better target the tumor while avoiding surrounding healthy tissue.

Delivering an exceptional patient experience helps make Memorial Hermann a premier community cancer network. Memorial Hermann knows that the relationship between the cancer patient, primary care physician, oncologist and cancer specialists is critical.

Our entire cancer-care team is available to provide emotional support during the course of each patient’s treatment. Specially trained oncology nurses, dietitians and social workers work with our physicians to assist our patients through recovery and healing.

We're committed to providing patients with the information and support they need to make informed decisions that increase their chances of living long, productive lives. Our patient-centered services promote education, early detection and positive outcomes.

Advanced Practice Nurse
Memorial Hermann’s Advanced Practice Nurse plays an important role in improving the inpatient treatment experience. With a master’s-level degree in clinical oncology and national certification in the field, the Advanced Practice Nurse helps cancer patients admitted to Memorial Hermann hospitals in many ways:

• Provides direct patient care, including chemotherapy administration, helping to ensure that a patient’s treatment plan is clear to nurses
• Serves as a resource for nurses and physicians regarding advanced oncology nursing knowledge, including the evaluation of specific care delivery needs for patients
• Implements consistent chemotherapy administration policies and procedures for nurses across the hospital system, providing a patient experience consistent with national standards
• Educates patients on cancer treatments and symptom management, as requested
• Provides nurses with continuing oncology education, including chemotherapy certification classes
• Promotes new program development and improvement opportunities, including the integration of the latest clinical capabilities that may benefit cancer patients at Memorial Hermann

Cancer Treatment Planning Boards
A multidisciplinary team of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, radiologists and pathologists meets weekly to plan and discuss the specifics of care delivered to individual patients. Patient progress is reviewed each week, and treatment options are discussed to ensure the best possible outcome for each patient. In effect, these planning boards provide our patients with second and third opinions on their treatment. In addition, cancer registries track cases diagnosed and treated to evaluate and facilitate improved quality of care and patient outcomes.

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care
Memorial Hermann recognizes that superior care involves treating the whole patient - body, mind and spirit. Upon request, professional chaplains are available at each hospital to offer both emotional and spiritual support to cancer patients and their families.

As an emotional and spiritual resource, hospital chaplains understand the personal concerns of cancer patients and help patients cope with the emotional stresses they are experiencing. Chaplaincy services include listening to patients, answering questions and offering short-term counseling, scripture and prayer, as requested. These services provide comfort to patients and their families during a difficult time.

Clinical Trials
Cancer patients at Memorial Hermann have access to appropriate clinical trials through their doctors. Any patient participating in a clinical trial at Memorial Hermann receives the standard-of-care treatment, in addition to the new therapy under consideration. When a proven standard-of-care treatment seems to provide insufficient attack against a patient’s cancer, qualified patients can be enrolled in ongoing community-based trials.

Genetic Counseling and Testing
Memorial Hermann offers cancer risk assessments, genetic testing, education and counseling for individuals at high risk for hereditary cancers such as breast, ovarian, colorectal and endometrial cancers.

Lymphedema Services
Lymphedema is a chronic condition characterized by swelling of the patient’s extremities due to abnormal accumulation of lymph fluids. The lymphedema management program offers noninvasive therapies to help patients reduce limb swelling, attain maximum limb function and maintain limb health. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center offers the only comprehensive lymphedema management program in Houston.

Palliative Care
Palliative care is active total care for patients with serious illness. Care is provided for patients and families by an interdisciplinary team working collaboratively with the patient’s attending physician, who focuses on pain and symptom control, management of psychosocial and spiritual issues and grief/bereavement support. Palliative care is provided with other appropriate medical care and is not reserved only for patients at end of life. The goal of palliative care is to help the patient achieve the best possible quality of life.

Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine, part of palliative care, is associated with our S.P.I.R.I.T. Program: Supportive, Patient, Integrative, Rehabilitative, Intervention, Therapies.

Research shows that integrating medical science with gentle complementary therapies may accelerate the healing process. These therapies are aimed to help individuals achieve a balance between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of health.

Therapies can elicit the relaxation response; ease anxiety, pain or other distressing symptoms by bringing about measurable physiological changes; and increase a sense of well-being. They do not interfere with any ongoing medical treatment, only enhance it.

Our palliative-care nurse is highly trained in therapeutic massage, healing energy work such as therapeutic touch, Reiki, guided imagery, mind/body therapies, meditation techniques, conscious breathing and aromatherapy. We also offer a wide selection of healing music.

Oncology Nurse Navigator
A specially trained registered nurse serves as an oncology nurse navigator and is available to patients and their families as a primary contact throughout a patient’s cancer diagnosis and course of treatment. Since a diagnosis of cancer is often overwhelming, the oncology nurse navigator helps to simplify the maze of cancer services required. Services provided by the navigator include:

• Navigating patients through the entire medical experience, including diagnosis, treatment plan, appointments, billing, and all tests and procedures
• Coordinating patient care to ensure that tests and procedures are conveniently scheduled
• Facilitating referrals to surgeons and other cancer specialists
• Explaining lab and test results
• Offering patients one-on-one informational instruction about cancer, definitions of treatment and information about cancer services available at their hospital and throughout the Memorial Hermann system
• Providing educational materials on cancer, which helps to empower patients throughout the treatment process
• Serving as a contact once the patient is home

Patient Resource Center
Obtaining information about health, illness and treatment options can increase a patient’s ability to make informed decisions and ease the fear of the unknown. Resource centers at each of our hospitals provide an easy-to-access environment where resource experts can help find the information that patients and their families need. Free and open to the public, our resource centers help to promote education and improve patient outcomes.

Psychosocial Assessment, Counseling and Support
Experienced oncology social workers are available to help patients with lifestyle changes, discharge planning and referrals to support groups and community agencies. Throughout its network of hospitals, Memorial Hermann offers support groups for breast cancer support groups, prostate cancer support groups and others for cancer patients.

Other Patient Services
Memorial Hermann is committed to enhancing our patients’ quality of life through services such as wellness programs, nutritional counseling, smoking cessation classes, dance and exercise therapy, and on-site rehabilitation services. Our Wellness Center offers a variety of programs to help promote healing. To register for a class, please call 713-222-CARE (2273). English- and Spanish-speaking representatives are available seven days a week to help you.