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Brain and Nervous System Cancer Care

When you’re a patient at Providence, we don’t just treat your cancer – we treat you. We use the most advanced treatments to create a highly personalized care plan. We also support you and your loved ones with a full range of services throughout your entire cancer journey. The result is effective, whole-person care for the body, mind and spirit.

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Why Choose Us for Brain and Nervous System Cancer Care?

At Providence, we see the life in you. Together, let’s finish cancer – so you don’t have to miss any of life’s special moments.

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No two patients, or their treatment plans, are alike. This is why, at Providence, we take a highly personalized approach to your brain and nervous system cancer care. You’ll experience this through our multidisciplinary tumor boards, where your oncology team collaborates with other cancer care experts about your specific diagnosis. We also offer a Providence Molecular Tumor Board, where we evaluate your genomic and clinical information to find the best genetically matched treatment for you. Your oncology team will work with you directly to design a treatment plan that fits your personal needs. It’s an approach that combines leading-edge treatment with the compassionate care Providence is known for. Why? Because we know this results in the best outcomes.

As a patient, you’ll be supported through your entire cancer journey by a multidisciplinary cancer care team. You’ll be treated by neuro-oncologists and radiation oncologists, who may use Gamma Knife technology to precisely target tumors with high-dose radiation beams, a procedure known as stereotactic radiosurgery. If surgery is required, our experienced world-class neurosurgeons use the most advanced and minimally invasive techniques. This may include neuroendoscopy or open surgical resection. It’s a team-based approach to brain and nervous cancer care. Your care team may include cancer rehabilitation specialists, oncology nurse navigators and other cancer specialists. We also provide you and your family with a full range of support services well beyond conventional treatment, from genetic counseling and education to nutrition and pain management.

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but access to great brain and nervous system cancer care hasn’t always been the same for everyone. At Providence, we are deeply committed to making sure every patient we treat has access to the best cancer care. We offer various location-specific services to help our patients receive equitable care, such as translation for non-English-speaking patients, telehealth and transportation assistance. We value, respect and support the racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual and spiritual identities of each member of our diverse communities, and we welcome all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. We aim to make sure every patient is treated equally and with dignity – whoever you are, and wherever you’re at.

As a patient at Providence, you have access to the largest community-based cancer network in the United States. Being part of a collaborative network means that your local brain and nervous system cancer care team shares knowledge and experience with other world-class clinicians across 52 hospitals in seven states. The extent and power of our network is one of the reasons more than 2,500 new brain and nervous system cancer patients, and 50,000 new cancer patients, choose Providence each year.

Providence is well known for offering options – and hope – to patients seeking the most advanced procedures and therapies to treat brain and nervous system cancers. As a patient, you have the opportunity to participate in one of the many clinical trials for brain tumors happening across the Providence network, including a study on immunotherapy drugs for recurrent glioblastoma.

About Brain and Nervous System Cancers

Brain and nervous system cancers occur when masses or tumors made of cancer cells form within the brain or spinal cord. These growths may affect a person’s ability to think and move. The expert oncology teams at Providence use the most effective therapies to treat patients with every type of brain and nervous system cancer and their related conditions, including:

  • Glioma
  • Glioblastoma
  • Meningioma
  • Pituitary tumors
  • Schwannoma
  • Spinal tumors

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Testing and Diagnostics

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Diagnostic tools help our cancer clinicians determine which therapies will work best for each patient, based on many factors like cancer type and the genetic or molecular profile of the tumor. Your doctors will use multiple advanced diagnostic and prognostic tools to help design your individualized treatment plan. Depending on your case, this may include one or more of the following:

Personalized Treatment for Brain and Nervous System Cancers

We take a team approach to your brain and nervous system cancer treatment because we know this offers the best success in controlling and curing cancer. Your multidisciplinary cancer care team will work with you to design an individualized cancer care plan, from diagnosis to post-treatment support. We offer many different therapies across our Providence locations. Depending on your condition, your personal care plan may include one or more of the following:

Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow. Systemic therapies include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Clinical trials
  • Immunotherapy

Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan. Surgical therapies include:

  • Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)
  • Neuroendoscopy
  • Resection of the brain and nervous system

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation is sometimes used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort. Radiation therapies include:

  • Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Providence locations.
  • Stereotactic radiation (SABR/SBRT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Providence locations.
  • Surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT/SIGRT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Providence locations.
  • Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)

Additional therapies may also be part of the treatment plan for a small number of patients. These may include:

  • Alternating electrical fields
  • Interventional radiology

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Accreditations

We are proud to see our dedication to our cancer patients recognized by some of the most well-respected programs and institutions in the United States. Several of our Providence locations have achieved the following accreditations:

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Doctors Specializing in Brain and Spinal Tumors

At Providence, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.

Find Clinical Trials

Are you looking for a clinical trial for yourself or for a patient? We’d love to help you find one!

Learn more about clinical trials
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844-510-4325
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