[Noozhawk’s note: First in a series sponsored by the Hutton Parker Foundation.]
It’s been five years since the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center centralized its operations, providing patients with access to nearly all aspects of their care in one, state-of-the-art facility.
The one-stop-approach reflects a hybrid model of care, offering exceptional doctors, advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies, and clinical research all at one site. It has proven invaluable to patients.
“Ridley-Tree Cancer Center is the only location in Santa Barbara that provides all three comprehensive care specialties, plus the diagnostic and treatment capabilities in one space,” said Matt Baumann, vice president of oncology services.
“Patients benefit by having the ease of seeing doctors in the same place that they receive treatment and supportive care.”
There are also tremendous advantages to having the doctors from every specialty just down the hall from one another.
“Patients get a high degree of comfort that is hard to quantify when they hear that I’ve spoken face-to-face with their other doctors,” said Dr. Gregg Newman, a medical oncologist.
Newman is the primary point person for patients, and the one they rely on when complications or medical decisions need to be made. Therefore, his ability, and that of the nine other medical oncologists at RTCC, to collaborate directly with colleagues is an enormous benefit to patients.
“A large part of our jobs is communicating with other specialists to determine the best course of treatments for the best outcome,” he explained. “Being able to walk into a colleague’s office for a quick consult is extremely helpful.”
Cancer care requires a team that often includes medical, radiation and surgical oncologists, and nuclear medicine physicians, as well as nutritionists, patient navigators, social workers and genetic counselors.
The fact that all of these services — and more — are under one roof, allows RTCC to truly care for the whole person and not just their diagnosis.
It’s unique for a community of Santa Barbara’s size and it’s made possible thanks to more than seven decades of support by the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara (previously known as the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara).
In 2012 the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara and Sansum Clinic merged with a vision of creating the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. As part of this merger, the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara re-established itself as the nonprofit fundraising partner and biggest supporter of this venture.
The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center adopted its new name, in honor of the late Leslie Ridley-Tree, when the new, 54,000-square-foot building opened five years ago at 540 W. Pueblo St.
Ridley-Tree died Oct. 3, but her legacy will be felt for generations to come.
“Since the founding of most of our local health-care institutions more than a century ago, no individual has had a greater impact on patients in our community than Lady Ridley-Tree,” said Dr. Kurt Ransohoff, CEO and chief medical officer of Sansum Clinic.
“Nearly every patient in our community has been touched in some way by her generosity.”
Bauman said another major differentiator for the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center is the support from the Cancer Foundation.
“They provide millions of dollars every year, which allows us to deliver world-class medical care, with supportive care programs that reduce stress, manage side effects and improve healing,” he said.
(Ridley-Tree Cancer Center photo)
These supportive services include oncology nutritionists, genetic counselors, acupuncture, financial counseling, social workers, support groups, wellness programs and a resource library.
Perhaps best of all, patients can receive a personal navigator who serves as a guide, liaising and scheduling with health-care providers, taking notes during appointments, and recommending resources.
All of these complementary services are provided at no added cost to patients, and they are available to all patients and families dealing with cancer in the community, even if their oncologists are not within Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s network.
There is also a special fund, known as the Arthur J. Merovick Endowment for Patient Assistance, which ensures that no patient is ever turned away for financial reasons.
Baumann estimates that the center sees around 90% of all cancer patients in Santa Barbara, at some point in their journey.
“I think that’s one of the most beautiful visions of the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center,” said Lori Willis, executive director of the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara.
“Patients don’t have to go anywhere else because we have the best and the brightest doctors, the latest technology, and support services all right here in Santa Barbara.”
The other critical aspect of care that can be found right here in Santa Barbara is cutting-edge research, which the Cancer Foundation helps fund. Currently, of the 57 trials underway, 12 have resulted in Food & Drug Administration approvals. Baumann said no other site in the area is offering clinical trials of this magnitude.
“With clinical research we really start to move toward the academic advancements in cancer care in an approved and controlled method,” he said. “When those new methodologies are approved, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center is well poised to offer treatments to our community.”
Newman serves as the principal investigator of a new modality used to treat prostate cancer. Lutetium has been used in Germany with success in extending the lives of some of those with advanced stages of metastatic prostate cancer. It was granted FDA approval in the United States this year, and Newman is testing to see whether this newer radiation delivery system is effective if administered to patients with early stage prostate cancer.
Ridley-Tree Cancer Center physicians work with national networks and pharmaceutical companies to identify and initiate trials based on the science as well as the needs of their patient population.
The Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara is also in the process of upgrading Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s nuclear medicine department housed within nearby Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, updating PET/CT machines from analog to digital.
Next year the foundation will fund new SPEC/CT machines that improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
“Ridley-Tree Cancer Center will be one of the only sites on the West Coast between Stanford and Los Angeles to have these two specialized machines,” Willis said.
It is thanks to the generosity of families and foundations that the Cancer Foundation is able to support the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, and in turn, provide a world-class cancer facility to the greater Santa Barbara community.
Click here for more information about the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. Click here to make an online donation.
— Ann Pieramici is a Noozhawk contributing writer. She can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.