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If you are facing cancer, hope comes from the confidence you have in your care team and their access to the latest advancements in cancer treatment. Rest assured, Mercy Cancer Center in Joplin offers the best doctors, caregivers and advanced technology for one reason: to help you fight and beat cancer, fortify your spirit and nurture hope.
Conveniently providing all services in a single location, Mercy Cancer Center offers the latest advancements in treatment. Patients have access to new drugs and therapies, a state-of-the-art radiation therapy department, clinical trials of experimental pharmaceuticals and diagnostic technology at the leading edge of medicine, all with convenience and compassion for patients and their families.
The center is at the new Mercy Joplin campus. You’ll find parking right outside the door, easy access to pharmacy, laboratory and radiology services, and an infusion center and outdoor healing garden where you and your family can relax.
Dr. Samir Dalia, a board-certified hematologist and oncologist, said the advantage of the cancer center over a traditional visit to a doctor’s office is the comprehensive nature.
“We have a multi-disciplinary approach to treating cancer,” he said. “Our team approach allows surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, rehabilitation specialists, dieticians, social workers and nurse navigators to work together to provide a patient with the best possible treatment.”
Dr. Dalia and the other staff members hold conferences each week to discuss their patients’ treatment and well-being. “We attack cancer from all angles,” he said, “and provide patients with a holistic approach to treating their disease.”
New at the Mercy Cancer Center is its research program. “Patients don’t have to go to Kansas City or St. Louis to have access to clinical trials and new drugs,” Dalia said.
Breast cancer is the No. 1 type of cancer in women. Among the center’s state-of-the-art technologies is 3-D mammography, which allows doctors to see more detail in breast tissue images. Mercy Breast Center, accredited as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology, is the only one in the Joplin area to offer this technology.
Lung cancer awareness month is in November. As the No. 1 cancer that people die from in the U.S., the key to treating the disease, Dr. Dalia said, is to diagnose it as early as possible. Designated as a lung cancer screening center by the American College of Radiology, Mercy uses low-dose computed tomography, which uses less ionizing radiation than a conventional CT scan.
A new linear accelerator allows doctors to use 3-D imaging and fusion technology with CT scans, MRI imaging and PET scans to more accurately identify and map cancers within the body. It even adjusts when a patient moves or breathes, enabling radiation oncologists to pinpoint the tumor and target it with fewer treatments.
