The "total cancer care" concept: linking technology and health care.

Providing “best care”to patients is the goal of every cancer institute. New knowledge gleaned over the past decades about screening, cancer drugs, tumor imaging, genetics, cancer risk, lifestyle and nutrition allows us the ability to provide a level of care unimagined by researchers only a few generations ago. The term “best care,”however,covers a broad spectrum of issues in the cancer experience. Several parts of the whole picture need to be in place to ensure delivery of optimal care: a focus on the disease, an understanding of the patient, a high level of clinical expertise, access to clinical trials, the support of interdisciplinary teams, and the means to bring state-of-the-art equipment and the benefits of scientific findings to the bedside — all of which hinge on patient access to the right place at the right time. With Florida ranking second nationwide in both cancer incidence and mortality, accessibility to quality care is integral to the state’s 17 million residents. In 2005, approximately 95,000 residents will be diagnosed with cancer and 40,000 will die of it.1 To address the needs of this large and expanding population, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa has initiated a new, broad-based cancer care delivery system — Total Cancer Care (TCC) — that will overcome barriers to cancer care and provide far-reaching access to the latest discoveries in lifesaving research.