After being diagnosed with cancer, a person experiences a myriad of emotions and decisions – how and where to fight your cancer. No matter where cancer occurs – breast, brain, lung, prostate, blood system – McLeod Health provides understanding and highly-skilled specialists, infusion services, proven treatments, and the best technology in the region. The McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment & Research located on the campus of McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, SC has been the choice for medical excellence for hundreds, if not thousands, of people each year.
The McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research is the home of hope and help for cancer patients from the Midlands to the Coast. Our physicians, surgeons, navigators and staff will be with you for your entire journey as we diagnose and select the cancer treatment therapies that will offer the best prospect for hope, recovery and rehabilitation.
The McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research is home to highly-skilled specialists, infusion services, proven treatments, and advanced technology. We are here to provide the compassionate care you need and help keep dreams alive.
The McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research is a place where patients feel like family. Our team of exceptional and highly-trained cancer specialists work together to diagnose and treat all kinds of cancers. They work as one to create the best treatment plan for each person. We also provide the resources you need for recovery and rehabilitation. At McLeod Health everything you need to fight cancer is in one place.
Cancer is not one disease but many that are found in different parts of the body. McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research concentrates on treating these cancers through a multitude of therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy that delivers relief faster and in fewer treatments or reduces the need for drastic surgery. Cancer research plays an important role at McLeod, offering access to new therapies and treatments not available at many other hospitals.
Ways to shrink and kill cancer constantly change. McLeod wants to be sure our patients benefit from these developments, utilizing three TrueBeam LINAC units to preserve healthy tissue, as well as shorten treatments and decrease the number of treatments. They come by many names – SRS, SBRT and IMRT – but they all represent improved chances of recovery. Learn more about Radiation Oncology.
Each week at McLeod, physicians representing Oncology, Pathology, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, and Surgery, discuss cancer patient’s cases which are presented to one of four McLeod Tumor Boards. Together, the team recommends the best treatment plan for patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, brain and spine cancer as well as any other cancer presented to the board.
READ MOREUsing this approach, they also bring together other specialists who are experts in their field such as Cardiothoracic Surgeons, Pulmonologists, Neurosurgeons and Physicists to collaborate and reach a unified decision on the best plan of care for the patient. This team helps deliver the most advanced, effective treatment available to patients diagnosed with cancer at McLeod.
CloseThe McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research stands as the region’s only “Comprehensive Community Cancer Program” as accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. Only 1 out of 4 cancer programs in the country are accredited.
READ MOREAdditionally, McLeod Radiation Oncology holds international recognition for the highest level of safety and effectiveness in care. Following a rigorous and voluntary audit conducted by an independent third-party panel of experts in radiation oncology, McLeod is distinguished as a Cancer Center that exceeds standard measurements for delivery of quality care. One of only eight Novalis Certified Cancer Centers in the United States, McLeod is the only such cancer center in South Carolina. The hospital also represents one of only 46 certified centers worldwide. In addition to this certification, McLeod Radiation Oncology has been accredited by the American College of Radiology – Radiation Oncology Practice Accreditation program (ACR ROPA) since 2013. Of the roughly 2,500 radiation centers in the United States only 710 of those or 26 percent are accredited by the American College of Radiology.
The McLeod Breast Health Center carries the prestigious “National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers” accreditation and is an American College of Radiology Designated Comprehensive Breast Imaging Center. In the treatment of lung cancer, McLeod is designated as a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology.
CloseInfusion Services is an outpatient department of McLeod Regional Medical Center with locations in the McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research in Florence and McLeod Health Seacoast in Little River. This department provides infusion treatments with a specialty in Oncology and Hematology. The team works closely with the oncologists of McLeod Oncology and Hematology Associates and McLeod Oncology and Hematology Associates at Seacoast, Pharmacy, and other support areas to provide safe and holistic care to the patients as well as their families.
READ MOREAny questions concerning the patient’s diagnosis, treatment, and side effects can be and are provided by this team. The Infusion Services department also offers ample room for a family member or friend to remain with the patient and provide support while they receive treatment.
CloseAfter your diagnosis, a Cancer Navigator is available as needed to provide you with education about your cancer diagnosis and treatment plan as well as to answer any questions you or your family may have. Cancer Navigators can help connect patients to additional resources that may be needed to ensure access to care. As you move into the “new normal” after the completion of active treatment, Cancer Navigators are also available to assist you with the transition of managing cancer survivorship.
READ MORECancer Navigators at McLeod include the following:
Damia Harcrow, RN, BSN, Brain Cancer (843) 777-5779
Beth Epps, RN, BSN, Lung Cancer, (843) 777-5640
Terri Thomas, RT (R), Concurrent Treatment, (843) 777-6339
Angela McNeil, RN, Cancer Survivorship, (843) 777-5653
Tracey O’Neal, RN, CBCN, Breast Cancer, (843) 777-5418
If you would like to speak to a Cancer Navigator, but do not see your cancer diagnosis listed, please call Sarah Beth Averette at (843) 777-0899 and she will connect you with an appropriate cancer representative.
CloseThe McLeod Cancer Resource Guide contains information about the medical staff, treatment options, technology, and programs and services that encompasses the McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research. We hope you find this guide helpful and encouraging whether you are a patient, caregiver or physician. Download the Guide.
Annually, McLeod produces a Cancer Report to share its outcomes with the community. This year’s report features an overview on the Comprehensive Lung Cancer Program offered at McLeod and the lung cancer cases diagnosed and treated in 2021 by Dr. Srinivas Kolla, staff articles on the smoking cessation clinic, meeting the genetic needs of patients and families, exceeding standards of quality, cancer and sexual health and our board certified physics team in addition to the advancements of early detection with the SPiN Thoracic Navigation System and robotic-assisted thoracic surgery as well as how McLeod Foundation donors have supported a new McLeod Mobile Mammography Unit and the HOPE (Helping Oncology Patients Everyday) Fund. To view the report, click here.