Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic at the Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh

Local expertise | Radiation therapy | Prostate cancer | Breast cancer | Specialized care

Cancer care excellence close to home

When the diagnosis is cancer, one of the most important decisions a person will ever make is where to go for treatment. Some people have to travel great distances to get 1st-class cancer care. If you or someone you love has cancer, be assured that you don't have to go far to get the superior quality of a major cancer center. The Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh offers excellent care in the heart of your community.

Comprehensive cancer care services

The Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic approach is to fight cancer on all fronts – with education, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support. By offering all-encompassing care through a coordinated team effort, patients and families need only turn to the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic for all their cancer care needs.

Education and support services include:

• A resource library to help you learn more about treatment options, CancerHelp online resource and the Vince Lombardi Cancer Hotline (800-252-2990) for information on cancer prevention, early detection and treatment options
• Access to national clinical trials and other promising research through Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay and Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee
• Support groups to help you in your fight against cancer

A comfortable, caring environment

At Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh, you will find a uniquely warm and inviting environment. Here, you will receive the personalized attention made possible by our patient-centered approach to cancer care, including:

• Private patient hallways to enhance your privacy and help you feel as comfortable as possible
• Spacious patient rooms to provide ample room for your loved ones to stay with you and full private baths to ensure your privacy
• Easily accessible nurse stations that invite interaction between nurses and patients and their families
• Unlimited visiting hours to better allow your family and friends to participate in your recovery
• A Healing Garden to allow for moments of peaceful reflection o Bedside admitting to help get you as comfortable as possible as soon as possible
• Monthly support group meetings to help you and your family members better cope with cancer
• Reference centers, with health resources and Internet access, so you can learn more about treatment options and medical conditions

Local expertise and resources

Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinics are located throughout eastern Wisconsin, and each is staffed by a team of cancer specialists. Because our specialists practice locally, they regularly consult with one another to discuss cases and develop personalized treatment plans, as well as share knowledge, strategies and techniques.

Successful clinical trails performed at one clinic will be shared with all clinics in the network, so you're assured of receiving the latest cancer care available.

We provide a holistic approach to cancer care. Our experts work together to educate you and your loved ones on every aspect of your care and treatment. The team includes medical and radiation oncologists, general surgeons, plastic surgeons, neurologists, urologists and other specialists as needed.

Following the initial consultation and diagnosis, our specialists keep your referring physician informed of your condition and progress throughout the course of your treatment. When your treatment is completed, you'll be returned to the care of your personal physician.

Advanced radiation therapy: the frontier of cancer care

Advances in cancer treatment using radiation are made almost daily, and our specialists make them available to you through the Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh.

Virtual simulation is a process that allows the radiation treatment team to obtain highly detailed images of a patient's body. It allows any areas of concern in the body to be imaged and then stored electronically – allowing the patient to leave. The physician and dosimetrist use this information, along with other tests and the patient's medical background, to make important decisions about how much radiation is needed, how it will be delivered and how many treatments the patients will need.

3-dimensional treatment planning uses a computer with special software to view a patient's body from any angle. This sophisticated technology allows the staff to precisely locate the cancerous cells. Locating where the cancer is, in comparison to normal tissues, is an important step before creating an individualized plan for the radiation therapy patient. 3-D conformal treatments direct beams of radiation from many different directions to minimize harm to normal tissues.

A linear accelerator is a large machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers using electricity to form a stream of tiny, fast-moving particles. Much like a chest x-ray, the radiation beam does not hurt and you cannot see it. Unlike a chest x-ray, the radiation beam from a linear accelerator is used for therapeutic treatment and penetrates deeply into the body to target cancer cells.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is one of the most advanced treatment methods available in external beam radiation therapy today. It has been effective in the treatment of certain lung and brain tumors. Rather than having a single, larger radiation beam pass through the body, in IMRT the radiation is broken up into thousands of very thin radiation beams that enter the body from many angles and intersect on the cancer. This technique results in a higher dosage of radiation to the tumor and a lower dosage to the surrounding healthy tissues. This means higher cancer control rates and a lower rate of side effects for the patient.

Brachytherapy is one of the most promising new radiation treatments. This technique is used with great effect in breast and brain cancer, and it's helping men with prostate cancer return to normal, healthy lives. During brachytherapy, tiny radioactive “seeds” are precisely implanted into the cancer through a slender tube. Once in place, the seeds destroy cancerous cells, leaving healthy surrounding tissue undamaged.

Treating prostate cancer

There are many medical, social and emotional aspects to consider when dealing with prostate cancer. The team at Aurora Medical Center works closely with each person facing prostate cancer, keeping you well informed throughout the diagnostic and treatment process. You are encouraged to become an active participant in your therapy and care. This open collaborative approach to cancer treatment ensures the best outcome for every prostate patient.

Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh offers a complete range of personalized treatment options for those diagnosed with prostate cancer. Before recommending a specific course of treatment, your physician will consider your age, general health, the stage and grade of the disease, as well as your Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) level.

The most common treatment options for prostate cancer include watchful waiting, radiation therapy, surgery, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. All of these options are available at Aurora Medical Center – close to home.

Be sure to discuss all of your questions thoroughly with your physician before making a decision about which treatment is appropriate for you. Because there are a number of approaches to treating prostate cancer, your physician may recommend a combination of treatment methods, tailored to your specific needs. Every treatment has benefits and side effects. Your final decision should be made only after considering your personal health condition, circumstances and goals.

Treating breast cancer

Are you at risk?

Early breast cancer detection saves lives. A mammogram can detect cancers of a smaller size, often months or years before it can be felt by a physical exam. Early diagnosis increases your choice of treatment options, as well as your chance of long-term survival.

Monthly breast examination by a health care professional and annual mammography screenings are essential procedures for all women to follow. The mammography facilities at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh are accredited by the American College of Radiology and certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh, all of these services are available:

• Routine screening mammograms and self-referred mammograms read by board-certified radiologists
• Customized imaging workups including special mammographic views, such as magnification views and/or high-resolution breast ultrasound for women experiencing breast symptoms
• Cyst aspirations for painful or tender breast cysts
• Ultrasound guided fine needle aspirations and core biopsies for cysts with “atypical” cells
• 2nd opinions on mammograms taken at an outside facility

All results from mammograms and workups will be shared with your health care provider and given to you directly from the radiologist. The radiologist will also address any questions or concerns you may have.

Our cancer care specialists understand the sensitive and complex nature of breast and gynecological cancers. We provide you with a diagnostic department dedicated exclusively to women's health issues. You'll also find support groups here to help sustain you in your fight against cancer.

Our physicians, surgeons and nurses are experienced in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Your personal Breast Care Coordinator helps ensure that you understand your options, and our plastic surgeons offer their expertise should breast reconstruction be required.

While not as common as breast cancer, cancers of the reproductive organs affect thousands of women each year. We offer comprehensive screenings to rule out most forms of gynecological cancer. Should cancer be suspected, our specialists rely on a variety of imaging technologies … ultrasound, MRI and CT to name a few … to assess the nature and extent of the disease.

If cancer is confirmed our experts explore available options and analyze each unique situation to design the best course of treatment.

Access to the best specialized care available

While most cancer care can be provided locally at the Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh, some patients may require the highly specialized resources available only at a major metropolitan cancer center. We provide direct access to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee and Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay, two of the most advanced cancer care providers in the state.

Besides providing a wide range of cancer care and support services, St. Luke's and Aurora BayCare offer therapies and national clinical trials at the forefront of cancer treatment research. Patients are able to undergo treatments long before they are available to the general public.

Other services and treatments available at either St. Luke's Medical Center or Aurora BayCare Medical Center include:

• Linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery
• High dose rate brachytherapy
• Breast brachytherapy with MammoSite
• Genetic counseling
• Intraoperative radiation therapy
• Total body radiation therapy
• Intravascular brachytherapy
• Radiofrequency technology
• Cancer support groups
• Counseling services

In addition, St. Luke's provides gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery of previously inoperable brain tumors.

Taking the first step

If you have questions about your health or particular symptoms that concern you, please call the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic - Oshkosh at 920-303-8700 . A trained professional will initiate the coordination of your care or treatment as appropriate, or suggest a local physician if you need one.

If you are searching for general cancer information and educational materials, please call the Vince Lombardi Cancer Hotline at 800-252-2990.