Mosaic Medical Center - Albany is beginning to see patients at its recently completed Cancer Care Clinic.
The clinic is being added as the hospital reports an increase in cancer in the region. Dr. Katie Dias, President of the Albany center and a Family Practitioner said the rise in cases might be related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I saw it from the lens of a physician, so I saw my patients deferring preventative care, deferring those colonoscopies, deferring those pap smears, because they didn't want to risk getting sick."
That deferred care has led to patients with more severe illnesses and more treatment needs, Dias said. The new clinic will help meet a variety of those needs.
"Patients can establish care with an oncologist, we will have an advanced practice provider on site, and we will be offering chemotherapy on site, so patients don't have to travel to receive that,” Dias explained.
Dias noted that access to chemotherapy locally will be transformative for many of her patients. The clinic does not offer radiology on-site, as the investment cost of the technology is too great.
The facility's ribbon cutting ceremony is open to the public. It takes place at 4 PM on Wednesday, Sept. 24th and Mosaic Medical Center - Albany.