Multidisciplinary Care Teams
At Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute, we have teams of specialists from each diagnostic, treatment and supportive care discipline working together within the same facility.
We know that the best cancer care is care delivered in a multidisciplinary fashion providing an individualized approach for each patient’s needs. Read on for more about each team.
Experts on the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Team specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with cancers of the head and neck. The team consists of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, clinical research, social workers, nurse navigators, dieticians, nursing and supportive care services such as speech pathology. Members of this team are part of the esteemed group of cancer specialists at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center’s Head and Neck Center whose work earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 provider for Ear, Nose and Throat for 2017-2018 out of more than 4,500 medical centers in the United States.
The goal of the Head and Neck MDC team is to bring together our subspeciality team to educate, collaborate and improve the quality of care delivery. This group has developed processes and addressed challenges, with considerable contributions to quality across our health system.
Experts on the HPB/UGI Multidisciplinary Team specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with gastro/esophageal malignancies, primary and secondary malignancies of the liver and bile duct, and benign and malignant pancreatic neoplasms. The team consists of surgical oncologists, thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, clinical research, social workers, nurse navigators, dieticians, nursing and supportive care.
The goal of the Hepatobiliary / Upper GI MDC team is to bring together our subspeciality team to educate, collaborate, and improve the quality-of care delivery.. This group has developed processess and addressed community and/or hospital-based concerns regarding patients with these diseases.
Experts on the Skin and Soft Tissue MDC specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with cancers of the skin, soft tissue and bone. The team consists of surgeons, orthopedic oncologists, dermatologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, clinical research, social workers, nurse navigators, dieticians, nursing and supportive care services. A sarcoma-dedicated pathologist reviews all potential sarcomatous specimens and coordinates with an outside expert when needed. We are one of only 35 participating cancer centers throughout the world to have enrolled patients in the Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Registry, a prospective collection of primary retroperitoneal sarcoma patients’ data, radiological and pathological material
The goals of the Skin and Soft Tissue MDC focus on quality improvement endeavors, challenging case presentations, and a multidisciplinary educational series lead by our local cutaneous providers.
The Colorectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Team was the first of our multidisciplinary teams. Experts on the Colorectal MDC team specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with colorectal malignancies. The team consists of colorectal surgeons, surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, clinical research, social workers, nurse navigators, dieticians, nursing and supportive care services such as speech pathology.
The goal of the Colorectal MDC team from its inception has always been to enhance the quality of our colorectal cancer management from prevention and diagnosis to definitive treatment and surveillance.
The most prized accomplishment of our Colorectal MDC Team has been obtaining the accreditation of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer, or NAPRC. This is a quality initiative developed by the American College of Surgeons, and we were one of the first 15 programs in the United States to be accredited. In essence, this is a rectal cancer center of excellence, and we are the only one accredited in Louisiana. As a requirement of the program, we have rectal cancer tumor board meetings twice a month and present all rectal cancer patients prior to treatment, often after preoperative chemotherapy and radiation, and always after surgical resection.
Multidisciplinary, individualized recommendations are given after each discussion for each patient. Rigorous guidelines are required for recertification and maintenance of accreditation of NAPRC. This is a quality initiative that truly allows us to provide the highest quality multidisciplinary rectal cancer care possible.
Experts on the Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Team specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with lung cancer. The team consists of pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, clinical research, social workers, nurse navigators, dieticians, nursing and supportive care services.
The goal of the Lung MDC team is to bring together our subspeciality team to educate, collaborate and improve the quality-of-care delivery. This group has developed processes and addressed challenges, with considerable contributions to quality across our health system.