MaineHealth delivers exceptional cancer care for the people of Maine and eastern New Hampshire.
MaineHealth Cancer Care at a glance
Our team has nearly 300 care providers who specialize in oncology, including those who have achieved the highest level of training in their field. The physicians are employed by or affiliated with 11 MaineHealth hospitals, including:
- Five that have Commission on Cancer accreditation
- Three with breast programs certified by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Care
- Two radiation oncology programs (located at five sites) accredited by the American College of Radiology
- One with accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), a Quality Program of the American College of Surgeons
To deliver the best cancer care as close to home as possible for people in the MaineHealth service area, we have begun with the most prevalent cancers in the region:
- Breast
- Colorectal
- Gynecologic
- Lung
- Prostate/Genitourinary
Your patients with cancer have greater access, guided by patient navigators, to a coordinated system of care that includes:
Evidence-based guidelines are being implemented across the system. Diagnostic and treatment protocols are based on these guidelines regardless of which MaineHealth hospital a patient chooses.
Tumor boards, consisting of multidisciplinary specialists, provide additional perspectives and consider a range of treatment options when a patient’s case falls outside typical parameters.
Complex surgeries may require surgical oncologists who have the expertise gained from performing a high volume of surgeries. Patients may choose to go to MaineHealth Maine Medical Center or MaineGeneral Medical Center for these surgeries.
Radiation therapy programs (five locations) and chemotherapy infusion centers (nine locations) are based in communities across our system, giving patients options that can reduce their travel time and expense.
Clinical Patient Navigators are working together across the system on behalf of patients, helping them understand their treatment protocols, schedule appointments, and access support services in their local communities.
Research has the potential to improve outcomes, even reduce cancer incidence, making it a key element of care. Among our current and upcoming research initiatives are:
- Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative, a collaboration that is lead by Jackson Laboratories, to give patients access to state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic platforms for personalized and targeted therapy options
- Maine Cancer Foundation initiative to increase colon screening rate in Maine, and other important cancer prevention and support programs
- Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation grant to support the Maine Lung Cancer Prevention and Screening (Maine LungCAPS) Initiative, a four-year, multi-institution, multi-disciplinary collaboration of MaineHealth care providers and stakeholders, in collaboration with the MaineHealth Institute for Research and other stakeholders in the state
- MaineHealth Oncology Clinical Trials Network greatly expands and integrates clinical trials offerings
Hospitals affiliated with the MaineHealth system of cancer care:
Our cancer survivorship program offers two separate clinics for cancer survivors:
- Pediatric cancer survivorship clinic through the MaineHealth Maine Children’s Cancer Program
- Adolescent/adult cancer survivorship clinic for people age 18 and older who have completed treatment for cancer at any time during their life.
For individuals who are currently followed by an oncologist we recommend discussing survivorship care with your oncologist. We believe that knowledge of late effects may empower individuals to make better health choices, and early identification and treatment(s) of late effects may mitigate their impact on an individual’s life. For more information, call 207-396-7788.
Cancer patients across Maine and the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire have access to more advanced clinical trials in their home communities, thanks to a major federal research grant awarded to MaineHealth Cancer Care in 2019.
- MaineHealth Cancer Care was awarded a grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as a member of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), to implement a new cancer research program that aims to reach more Mainers in their own cities and towns, ensuring they have access to the best possible patient care. Patients are more comfortable being treated closer to their friends and family.
- The six-year, $5.1 million NCORP award is the single largest grant ever extended by the NCI for clinical cancer research and cancer clinical trials in the state of Maine. Through this funding, the MaineHealth Cancer Care Lifespan Program was established and designed to bring the latest research in cancer prevention, cancer treatment and cancer care delivery to Mainers. This program is the only oncology program in Northern New England to enroll patients in clinical trials at every stage of the cancer continuum from prevention to survival. View current trials. Patients currently have access to clinical trials at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center, Maine General Medical Center, MaineHealth Stephens Hospital, MaineHealth Waldo Hospital and MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital.
For more information, call 207-396-8670 or email ClinicalResearch@mmc.org