Bethke Cancer Center
The Bethke Cancer Center brings together experienced cancer specialists, leading-edge technology and the latest treatment options from the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology and the medical oncology practice of Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology. All of these services are conveniently available right in your community. Emerson’s close collaboration with Boston’s top cancer programs means you get the best of both worlds.
Inside the Bethke Cancer Center, you’ll find:
- The Massachusetts General Hospital Radiation Oncology Department at Emerson Hospital and Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology
- Expert specialists including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons and other clinicians
- State-of-the-art technology and advanced therapies in a spacious, light-filled setting
- Sophisticated diagnostic imaging to detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage
- A long-standing commitment to cancer prevention and genetic counseling
Your team. Your hospital.
You want a cancer team that will fight hard for you. We’ll do just that. In fact, our cancer program was ranked in the top 3% of all U.S. cancer centers for patient satisfaction. Plus, Emerson Hospital has received a three-year accreditation by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, which establishes the Bethke Cancer Center as a program that provides outstanding patient care. So choose close to home—choose the Bethke Cancer Center.
The Bethke Cancer Center is named for Arthur and Virginia Bethke in recognition of their incredible generosity.
Where technology meets expertise.
Our experienced radiology staff collaborate with cancer specialists and use the latest diagnostic imaging, including a 64-slice CT scanner, MRI scanner, ultrasound, bone scans, digital mammography and PET/CT—the newest approach to this important screening tool. All to determine your individualized treatment plan.
Many biopsy techniques don’t require surgery thanks to new image-guided techniques. Our talented pathology staff plays an important role in diagnosing cancer by examining tissues, tumors and blood samples to define the extent of the cancer and how it may respond to various treatments.
Integrative Therapies
The Bethke Cancer Center provides integrative therapies, also known as complementary therapies, which can be very effective in addressing nausea, pain and fatigue and in bolstering the immune system. We encourage you to speak with your physician if you are interested in combining acupuncture, yoga, Reiki, herbs or other complimentary therapies with your cancer treatment.
Support Services and Groups
Through the Center for Sports Rehabilitation and Specialty Services, you have access to cancer-related physical, occupational and speech therapy during and after treatment. Therapists are trained to evaluate the early signs of lymphedema, often successfully minimizing this complication of breast cancer. Plus, specialists from Emerson Home Care can provide support in the home and care coordination if a Hospice referral is desired.
Emerson’s Social Work department can help coordinate and integrate support services at any time from initial diagnosis through treatment and beyond. Practitioners from all of the support services work collaboratively with our medical oncology teams to provide the best care. The Bethke Cancer Center is dedicated to its patients and continues to provide care and support after active treatment through these and other survivorship programs.
Genetic Testing and Counseling
Many cancers have a genetic component; meaning they tend to run in families. That’s why our medical oncologists provide screening and referrals for genetic testing to help determine your cancer risk. For more information, please call 978-287-3436.
Open Clinical Trials
Clinical trials can answer questions about new ways to find, diagnose, treat and prevent cancer, as well as manage its symptoms. Many of today’s treatments resulted from information learned in past research trials. The decision to take part in a clinical trial is very personal. You should talk to your physician and consider the risks and benefits of a study before agreeing to participate.
Over the past 15 years, clinical trials have been an important part of the comprehensive cancer program at the Bethke Cancer Center. Now, we are very pleased to announce that Emerson Hospital, working jointly with Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, is participating in research through the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) one of the largest clinical cancer research organizations in the U.S.This allows our patients access to a growing number of the National Cancer Institute’s clinical trial options right here in Concord.
In addition, Emerson Hospital, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital Radiation Oncology, offers radiation-based clinical trials through the RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group).
These relationships make it possible for us to offer to our community some of the latest investigational treatments in breast, lung, colon and other cancers.
Open Trials through Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)
RTOG 0413
A Randomized Phase III study of Conventional Whole Breast Irradiation (WBI) Versus Partial Breast Irradiation (PBI) For Women with Stage 0, I, or II Breast Cancer. This is a Phase III clinical trial. The main purpose of a Phase III clinical trial is to compare the study treatments with the treatment that is considered the standard of care. WBI is a standard treatment after a lumpectomy. The purpose of this study is to see if partial breast irradiation (PBI) is as good as or better than whole breast irradiation (WBI) in keeping cancer from coming back in the breast. Studies have shown that giving radiation therapy to the breast after lumpectomy helps keep cancer from coming back in the breast. WBI is radiation therapy given 5 days a week for 5 to 7 weeks to the whole breast. PBI is radiation therapy given only to the area of the breast where the cancer was removed (called the "tumor bed"), at a higher dose rate. PBI is given 2 times a day on 5 days, for a total of 10 treatment sessions. Since it treats only a small portion of the breast, PBI may be given over a period of 5 to 10 days.
RTOG 0712
A Phase II Randomized Study for Patients With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Evaluating Transurethral Surgery And Concomitant Chemoradiation By Either BID Irradiation Plus 5-Fluorouracil And Cisplatin Or QD Irradiation Plus Gemcitabine Followed By Selective Bladder Preservation And Gemcitabine/Cisplatin Adjuvant Chemotherapy.
This is a phase II clinical trial. The purpose of this study is to find out what effects (good and/or bad) chemotherapy combined with external radiation therapy and possible removal of the bladder has on the patient and on the cancer. The chemotherapy drugs used in this study are not experimental drugs. These drugs have been used in the treatment of many patients with bladder cancer. This research is being done to see if one combination of drugs with radiation is superior to another in the treatment of this disease.
Massachusetts Clinical Collaborations
