Marking more than six decades of Making Cancer History®, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is located in Houston on the campus of the Texas Medical Center. The Texas Legislature created M. D. Anderson in 1941 asa component of The University of Texas System. The institution is one of the nation’s original three comprehensive cancercenters designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971.
Great Hospital, Great Physicians
M. D. Anderson is one of the largest, most-respected centers in the world devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention and has been working to eliminate cancer for more than sixty years. It has ranked as one of the top two hospitals in cancer care every year since U.S. News & World Report began its annual “America’s Best Hospital’s survey in 1990.
M. D. Anderson physicians are frequently recognized as among the best in the nation by surveys including Best Doctors in America. M. D. Anderson focuses exclusively on cancer, physicians at the center have experience with all types of cancer resulting in patients receiving expert care regardless of their diagnosis. M. D. Anderson is world-renowned for using and developing front-line diagnostic technology, letting physicians pinpoint each patient’s unique cancer and tailor therapy for the best possible outcome.
Research and Innovation
M. D. Anderson’s history is filled with stories of physicians, scientists, nurses and others who observed a problem and worked to solve it. One of the center’s greatest strengths is the ability to translate today’s most promising laboratory findings into tomorrow’s new, more effective and minimally invasive treatments.
M. D. Anderson has pioneered countless medical advances over the years. Patients benefit from that quest by receiving not only the best treatments to minimize or eliminate their cancer, but those treatments that also offer the best chance at a high quality of life. New and innovative therapies generally are available at M. D. Anderson several years before they become standard in the community.
Comprehensive Care and State-of-the-Art Technology
Most of the new patients who come to M. D. Anderson are treated in one of twelve multidisciplinary care centers, which embody the team approach to cancer care that has become an M. D. Anderson trademark. The primary care center team may also refer patients to one of twelve specialty or treatment centers for consultation or treatment.
Altogether patients receive the most comprehensive, personalized care possible which includes treatment delivered with the most state-of-the-art technology such as the Proton Therapy Center, BrainSUITE®, and the DaVinci® Robotic Surgical System.
Proton Therapy Center
The future of radiation therapy for cancer is in Houston, Texas. The Proton Therapy Center at M. D. Anderson offers the most advanced form of radiation treatment available in the Southwest. Proton therapy provides M. D. Anderson radiation oncologists with a specialized weapon in their arsenal to fight cancer. Proton therapy allows for the most aggressive radiation therapy possible, while keeping the harm to healthy tissue and side effects to a minimum.
Combined with M. D. Anderson’s more than sixty years of expertise and pioneering research in radiation therapy, The Proton Therapy Center is the premier destination for cancer patients desiring the best treatment by the most experienced radiation oncologists.
BrainSUITE
M. D. Anderson’s BrainSUITE® is the world’s first-of-itskind and is the latest advancement in image-guided surgery. The system provides real-time views of the tumor site during neurosurgery with intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging. This allows for more precise treatment of complicated tumors in sensitive areas of the brain.
The tools provided by the BrainSUITE maximize a neurosurgeon’s ability to significantly decrease undesirable side-effects after surgery and a patient’s need for second surgeries.
Proton therapy provides M. D. Anderson radiation oncologists with a specialized weapon in their arsenal to fight cancer.
Da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System
Minimally invasive surgery takes advantage of advances in computer imaging and robotics to provide effective surgical cancer treatment with a much smaller impact on the patient. Using tiny, tube-like cameras that look inside the body and miniaturized instruments and imaging machines that provide real-time views in the operating room, minimally invasive surgeries result in much smaller incisions and decreased recovery time.
M. D. Anderson uses the Da Vinci® robotic surgery system, which has four robotic arms that perform the actual surgery, though they still require direct input from the surgeon. Candidates for robotic-assisted surgery include patients undergoing prostatectomy, hysterectomy, thoracic procedures and some general surgeries.
Patients from Around the World
Each year more than 60,000 patients turn to M. D. Anderson for diagnosis and treatment, including patients from over 90 countries around the world. Many programs and services are in place to help and support all patients, as well as their families, each step of the way.
International Center
A diagnosis of cancer is frightening, even in the best of circumstances. Those who make the difficult decision to seek medical care far from home face even more anxiety and uncertainty due to the strain of international travel as well as cultural and language differences.
Breaking through these barriers, the compassionate staff at M. D. Anderson’s International Center is dedicated to easing the stress of this journey with personal support to answer questions, resolve fears and concerns, and help with adjusting to life in Houston.
The International Center serves as the gateway for patients from outside the U.S., offering a wealth of programs that address the wide-ranging needs of international patients and families. To best meet the medical needs of international patients, M. D. Anderson’s International Cancer Assessment Center completes cancer staging evaluations for patients who come to the institution from other countries and refers them to the appropriate disease-site center for treatment.
“Recognizing that international patients face unique challenges, our goal is to remove any and all barriers for these patients so that we may provide the level of care for which M. D. Anderson is best known,” says Daniel Epner, M.D., associate professor in the Department of General Oncology, who cares for international patients in the center.
Personal Attention
Upon first contacting M. D. Anderson, international patients are assigned an international representative, fluent in the patient’s own language, who provides guidancee on becoming a patient at M.D. Anderson, securing the initial appointment, what personal items and medical records to bring and assistance with travel, lodging and financial arrangements.
Once a patient arrives, their representative helps them become familiar with the hospital campus, learn about M. D. Anderson’s unique programs, and navigate around their new community. Interpreters are available 24 hours a day to ensure that the exchange of medical information between physicians and patients and their family members is clear and precise. Additionally, M. D. Anderson has discounts negotiated with airlines, hotels and ground transportation agencies for patients and their caregivers, as well as a full service on-site travel agency.
M. D. Anderson has long welcomed international patients and their families, providing invaluable personal assistance and free services that allow patients to focus their energy on the most important thing: fighting cancer.
World Class Health Care, World Class City
The Texas Medical Center
As the largest medical center in the world, the Texas Medical Center is an internationally recognized community of healing, education and groundbreaking research. The sprawling campus is home to many of the nation’s best hospitals, physicians, researchers, educational institutions and health care providers.
One of the center’s greatest strengths is the ability to translate today’s most promising laboratory findings into tomorrow’s new, more effective and minimally invasive treatments.
All 47 of institutions of the Texas Medical Center are notfor- profit, and are dedicated to the highest standards of patient care, research, and education. These institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and virtually all health-related careers.
Surrounding the Texas Medical Center are prestigious Rice University, beautiful Hermann Park, Reliant Park Stadium and the Museum District, one of the top cultural districts in the country.
Houston, Texas
The fourth largest city in the United States is also one of the most culturally rich cities in the nation. Home to a respected and energetic cultural arts scene, celebrated restaurants featuring flavors from 35 countries, some of the best museums in the country, the brains behind United States space exploration, and the largest medical center in the world, Houston is as diverse a city as they come.
Houston is an internationally acclaimed shopping destination that includes deluxe malls with hundreds of stores, world-class European-style shopping centers, eclectic shopping districts in historic neighborhoods and bargain filled outlets.
International shoppers can take advantage of tax free shopping Houston’s two airports make up the fourth largest multiairport system in the United States. Nonstop or direct service is available to 65 international destinations. Houston is also the primary gateway to Latin America—first in the nation in the number of weekly nonstop flights to Mexico.
For more information about M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, visit www.mdanderson.org. To contact the International Center directly, call 713-745-0450 or email international@mdanderson.org.
