Receiving a diagnosis of a brain tumor is a life-changing event. A growth of abnormal cells, a brain tumor can be cancerous or benign and can affect the brain’s ability to work normally. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, nearly 80,000 people will be diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. The newly expanded Brain Tumor Program at AdventHealth Celebration is here to help, combining world-class expertise with caring, compassionate support for patients and families at every stage of care and recovery.
The Team Approach
AdventHealth Celebration’s team provides multidisciplinary care, including neurosurgery, neuro-oncology services and radiation therapy — all from one clinic. “Our team approach helps streamline the time between a patient’s diagnosis and treatment,” says Herbert Newton, MD, Medical Director of Neuro-Oncology at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute. “Treating brain tumors in this way means there’s a collaborative continuum of care — a connected thread — as patients are seen by each specialist.”
A neuro-oncologist, a doctor who has special training in diagnosing and treating brain cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biological therapy and targeted therapy, serves as the main health care provider for brain cancer patients and coordinates treatment by other specialists.
When radiation is necessary, radiation oncologists utilize the latest technologies and techniques to deliver radiation therapy and protect the healthy tissue surrounding a tumor. Radiation therapists are on hand to guide each step of the treatment process. In cases of both malignant and benign tumors, neurosurgeons use leading-edge, minimally invasive techniques to optimize patient outcomes.
“Patients receive consultations in each specialty area,” adds Dr. Newton. “They have every opportunity to ask questions about their treatment options from the multiple specialists focused on their individual diagnosis. These treatments are designed to help reduce pain, scarring and damage to surrounding tissue — while promoting faster recovery.”
The variety of procedures available are as numerous as the types of tumors themselves. AdventHealth Celebration’s brain tumor treatments include:
• Brain-port surgery
• Endoscopic brain surgery
• Endoscopic endonasal skull-base surgery
• Endoscopic microvascular decompression
• Endoscopic posterior fossa tumor surgery
• Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery
• Interventional neuroradiology
• Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)
• Neuroendovascular surgery
• Optune® tumor treating field system
Clinical Breakthroughs
New advances in treating brain tumors occur every day around the world through clinical trials. “AdventHealth Celebration’s Brain Tumor Program offers one of the most active clinical trial programs in the nation,” says Melvin Field, MD, Medical Director of Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery for the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute. “As a result, our patients have direct access to promising new treatments that can’t be found anywhere else in the southeast.”
The constant striving for the best possible outcomes is all part of the program’s whole-patient philosophy. “Of course, we are here to provide excellence in clinical care, but to treat the whole patient, we must do more than that,” says Dr. Field. “Health is more than just medicine. Wholeness can only happen if, along with the latest and best treatment protocols, we address the emotional, nutritional and social wellbeing of our patients and their families.”