Partnering With the Community
Panelists discuss City of Hope’s collaborative partnership with community physicians, emphasizing expert evaluation at specialized centers while enabling ongoing treatment closer to home for convenience, coordinating common therapies like Daratumumab locally, reserving complex procedures such as stem cell transplants and clinical trials for specialized centers, and aiming to balance high-quality care with patient accessibility through integrated, personalized, and coordinated management across care settings.
At City of Hope, the relationship with community physicians is viewed as a true partnership aimed at making treatment as accessible and convenient as possible. While it is recommended that all patients with myeloma consult at a specialized center for expert evaluation, ongoing care can often be managed closer to home. For example, common treatments such as daratumumab, a monoclonal antibody drug used for many years, do not require patients to travel long distances. Instead, City of Hope works closely with local doctors to coordinate care, ensuring patients receive expert guidance while minimizing travel burdens.
Certain treatments, like stem cell transplants or enrollment in specialized clinical trials, are more complex and typically require care at a specialized center. For these cases, traveling to City of Hope or a similar center remains necessary to access the best care and newest therapies. However, beyond those specific needs, the goal is to simplify the patient experience by integrating community physicians into the treatment plan. This approach supports patients living with myeloma over many years, balancing high-quality care with convenience.
Overall, this ongoing partnership with community doctors allows patients to benefit from expert oversight and advanced treatments while maintaining much of their care close to home. It reflects an effort to reduce unnecessary complications in a patient’s life by combining specialized expertise with local support. By working together, City of Hope and community physicians strive to provide personalized, coordinated care that adapts to each patient’s evolving needs over the long course of myeloma treatment.
Oncology Nurses Provide Patients an Avenue to Supportive Care
August 4th 2025Palliative care is often associated with a patient entering end of life treatment and giving up on their treatment, but that isn't the reality of what id can do for patients. And oncology nurses can help guide patients to the right supportive care for them.
Hyman B. Muss Discusses the Importance of Nurses in Treating Pregnant Women With Breast Cancer
August 4th 2025Hyman B. Muss, MD, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, discusses the vital roles that nurses play when it comes to treating pregnant women with breast cancer.
