Top Cancer Care Coming to East Texas

TYLER – A newly-formed partnership is bringing the nation’s top cancer care to East Texas. It was announced Thursday that UT Health Northeast and MD Anderson Cancer Center will officially launch the UT Health Northeast MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2017. This brings to East Texas access to MD Anderson’s multi-disciplinary care, treatment innovations, standards of care and clinical trials. The hospitals’ cancer programs will be clinically and operationally integrated. They join six other healthcare institutions across the United States and three facilities in Brazil, Spain and Turkey.

According to a news release from UT Health Northeast, “This partnership will help cancer care in our region to take a quantum leap forward, which is needed as the lack of access to care is a key reason why citizens from our region are the unhealthiest in our state,” said UT Health Northeast President Dr. Kirk Calhoun. “tackling this regional healthcare crisis with the top-ranked cancer center in the world with the common goals of reducing cancer rates, improving outcomes, and making a measurable impact on the health and well-being of our family, friends and neighbors is not only vital, but both humbling and hugely inspiring.”

UT Health Northeast and MD Anderson Cancer Center are both under the leadership of The University of Texas System. According to UT System Chancellor William McRaven, “If we want to make our state and our nation as healthy as possible, then we have to serve all people regardless of where they live. Patients who live in northeast Texas, including those who live in rural areas, often don’t have access to specialty medical care. That’s about to change because UT Health Northeast-a trusted healthcare provide-and UT MD Anderson-the top cancer care provider in the nation-are levering their individual strengths and joining forces to serve to cancer patients where they live.”