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Description

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About Us
Welcome to MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando the first and largest affiliate of the worldrenowned University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center located in Houston Texas

Our mission at MD Anderson Orlando is to quotuse every available resource to defeat cancerquot To achieve this goal we are committed to

Creating superior programs in multidisciplinary patient care prevention
research and professional and community education

Bringing together the most highly trained and compassionate staff who
provide care in a supportive and comfortable atmosphere

Providing our staff with resources needed to render the most advanced
diagnostic ad therapeutic procedures that will improve the quality of life
for all patients and

Managing our financial and human resources in an effective manner that
contributes to the fulfillment of our mission

Guided by our parent organization The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando and supported by our corporate organization of which we are a wholly owned subsidiary Orlando Health we have achieved significant improvement in the quality of cancer care in the Central Florida community since our beginning in January 1991

Using MD Anderson clinical practice guidelines participating in clinical research trials originating from Houston and interacting with Houston clinical and research faculty through weekly telemedicine conferences the physicians and other professional staff of MD Anderson Orlando are providing a level of care to cancer patients unequaled in the southeastern United States

The home of MD Anderson Orlando is the stateoftheart Charles Lewis Pavilion a 220000 squarefoot structure completed in 2003 In addition to 60 private inpatient beds the 10story comprehensive multidisciplinary cancer center contains all ambulatory and ancillary services required for cancer care from diagnosis through all phases of treatment and follow up

Our board certified and specialty trained medical staff includes fulltime medical oncologists radiation oncologists and gynecologic oncologists complemented by pathologists radiologists and surgical oncologists in all relevant surgical specialties

At MD Anderson Orlando it is our commitment to do everything possible to provide the highest level of quality and compassionate care to you and your loved ones

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History

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With a mission of quotusing every available resource to defeat cancerquot MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando formerly the Orlando Cancer Center was created in 1990 A cooperative effort between The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando and Orlando Health MD Anderson Orlando marked the first affiliate of the renowned cancer center outside Texas

Long recognized as a world leader in innovative technology cancer research education prevention and treatment the collaborative effort extended the expertise of MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando to residents of Florida and the southeastern United States

With four medical oncologists and four radiation oncologists and 75 employees Orlando Cancer Center began treating patients in 1991The facility housed throughout the downtown campus of Orlando Regional Medical Center cared for the needs of cancer patients on an outpatient basis providing chemotherapy infusions and radiation therapy Those requiring hospital admission were treated at ORMC

In just a years time the center was featured in the third annual US News amp World ReportquotBest Hospitalsquot survey The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando ranked as the best cancer center in the nation and the article pointed out Orlando Cancer Centers close relationship with Houstons specialists Two years later in 1994 the facilitys name became MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando

This close working relationship is demonstrated weekly through telemedicine where the best minds though a thousand miles apart meet through teleconferences to consult on complex challenging patient cases Gathered around specially designed monitors physicians in Orlando and Houston poke and prod one another with a battery of questions With each electronic exchange of information with each Xray or pathology slide displayed they map out a course of treatment

As technologically advanced cancer treatment grew in Central Florida the softer side of medicine came of age In the early 1990s MD Anderson Orlando added a chaplain devoted to caring for patients and their families in the hospital This service was soon expanded to include outpatients Programs such as high tea spiritual bibilotherapy palliative care and a labyrinth also were offered to soothe the mind body and soul

During this time period awareness for cancer care grew and so too did the need for more services In 1993 two women Elaine Lustig and Sheila Solomon forever changed the way breast cancer was viewed in Central Florida A friendship forged on a golf course led to Women Playing For TIME Technology Immediate diagnosis Mammography and Education Suddenly the words quotbreast cancerquot were no longer whispered Instead WPFT along with MD Anderson Orlando funded Pink October and women began talking about early detection and awareness Over the years this grassroots group has grown to a board of 47 women and has raised more than 55 million for education research and treatment

As patients flocked to Central Florida the cancer center staff soon realized a bigger facility would be needed

In 1997 former President George Bush and the staff of MD Anderson Orlando broke ground on a new stateoftheart facility

This dream was realized in 2003 when patients and medical staff moved into a new 220000squarefoot facility located at 1400 S Orange Ave in downtown Orlando

MD Anderson Orlando was among the first in the nation to offer new treatment methods such as sterotactic interstitial brachytherapy in 1991 and intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT in 1998 Zevalin the first radioimmunotherapy medication approved by the Food amp Drug Administration to treat nonHodgkins lymphoma in 2002 Novalis BrainLAB shaped beam surgery in 2002 and helical tomotherapy imageguided intensity modulated radiation therapy in 2003

US News amp World Report has consistently ranked MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando as one of the top cancer treatment hospitals in the United States since 1990