We believe there is no better place to fight cancer than with Kaiser Permanente. Our skilled doctors and responsive care teams are trained in a comprehensive range of treatments and can help you make choices about your care that are right for you and your family. We’re committed to caring for the whole you: body, mind, and spirit at every point in your treatment.
When you bring together our team, our comprehensive services, and one-of-a kind patient experience, you have the foundation of cancer care that everyone deserves. Battling cancer is burden enough. That’s why we remove a lot of typical insurance processes and financial hurdles — so you can focus on your treatments and getting better.
Hear about our cancer care from our chief of medical oncology Leon Hwang, MD.
The best defense against cancer is a healthy lifestyle and, we believe, having a great partner in health—Kaiser Permanente.
300,000+
Cancer-related screenings per year
20+
Medical oncologists
14
Surgeons with dedicated fellowship training in a cancer-focused program (head and neck, gynecologic, urologic, or complex surgical oncology)
55+
Oncology nurses
800+
Patients who have attended our annual Cancer Survivor Day
65+
Radiologists
37+
Medical centers in the area
1,700
Providers to support you through your care journey. Learn more
The best defense against cancer is a healthy lifestyle and, we believe, having a great partner in health — Kaiser Permanente. With our care, you get:
5 out of 5
Screening early is key to catching cancer, and other diseases and illnesses, at a state where treatments are less invasive and cure rates are higher.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) rated our commercial health plan 5 out of 5 in preventive screenings for colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer.1
When it comes to detecting breast cancer, you’ll be in good hands with Kaiser Permanente. We use the latest technology, including 2D mammograms (and 3D mammograms for those with dense breast tissue), breast ultrasounds, and breast MRIs to detect breast cancer as thoroughly and quickly as possible.
Should you ever feel or see something unusual, you can walk into one of our medical centers for a mammogram, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Your results can be ready in 30 to 60 minutes. And if you need a biopsy, one can often be scheduled for that same day.
Our cancer care treatment is personalized, and you and your family are important and active participants in all decisions, from treatments to surgeries to mental and emotional support. No matter what type of cancer you have or at what stage, our team of skilled physicians is here to guide you through your many decisions and the options available. Why is treatment at Kaiser Permanente better?
Like people, no two cancers are exactly alike. With Kaiser Permanente, you get a team of oncologists, radiologists, surgeons, pharmacists, and more, to help you and your family determine the most appropriate treatment for your cancer. Each person brings knowledge to decisions based on deep evaluation of medical evidence, discussion between specialists who have different points of view, and exploration into any new breakthrough treatment options. Best of all, they continuously work closely together, so as your treatment and condition changes throughout the process, they all know and understand your progress and next steps.
One way that our physicians leverage each other’s knowledge is through our Cancer Conference, which brings together specialists from the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. This group meets regularly to review cases submitted by physicians looking for input about the diagnosis, treatment, or overall approach to a specific patient problem.
For each person diagnosed with breast, prostate, or head and neck cancer, we pull together a multidisciplinary team of doctors and other caregivers, including geneticists for breast cancer patients, who will help develop your treatment plan. They review everything — your blood work, imaging, lab results, medical history, physician notes, and more — and then discuss a plan of action, which may include a recommendation for other family members to be tested. One of our cancer clinic coordinators arranges for you to meet with each specialist on the same day at the same place. In one day, your treatment plan can be set in motion. You won’t need to make multiple appointments over a span of several weeks. And all of your doctors are on board to implement your plan from the start.
With our multidisciplinary medical expertise, we combine current technology, analysis of the latest cancer research, teamwork, and compassion — all to meet our high standards for our patients’ care. Watch plastic surgeon, Neelesh Kantak, MD, explain the importance of this integrated approach.
Even within chemotherapy, there are new drugs, new regimens, and new combinations always being developed. At Kaiser Permanente, you’ll get the treatment that’s proven to be the most appropriate for your cancer, not one based on cost, what medications are in stock, or what’s popular at the moment. (You may be surprised to know that many non-Kaiser Permanente oncologists’ pay is driven by the type of chemotherapy they prescribe and how much it costs.) If infusion chemotherapy is part of your treatment plan, you’ll be cared for in beautiful, comfortable, and relaxing infusion centers staffed by nurses who provide you with personal attention. You can trust that our centers are filled with cutting-edge, computer-monitored equipment that aids in the accuracy of drug prescribing, mixing, and dispensing. Your doctors evaluate alternatives, too, and prescribe oral- and immune-based treatments, radiation, surgery, or other options when traditional IV chemo-infusion is not the best option for you.
Watch Rahul Tevar, MD, a Permanente surgeon, discuss our multidisciplinary Breast Care Clinics, which allow our members to receive coordinated care from a team of specialists.
Watch Neelesh Kantak, MD, a Permanente plastic surgeon, discuss our multidisciplinary Breast Care Clinics, which allow our members to receive coordinated care from a team of specialists.
Advanced treatments
No matter the treatment plan — aggressive or conservative, major surgery or minimally invasive, traditional or alternative approaches — every covered service can be considered for your care. Our advanced medical centers provide chemotherapy, laparoscopic surgery, interventional radiology procedures such as microwave ablation, radiation seed placement, acupuncture, herbal therapy, excision, and reconstructive surgeries. As an added convenience, we provide same-day service for X-ray fluoroscopy, ultrasounds, CAT scans, and MRIs (Baltimore), which all help to precisely target therapies.
In addition, we use the Savi Scout system, a zero-radiation and wire-free solution designed to make breast cancer surgery easier and more efficient for women and their doctors. Rather than inserting a wire into the breast, as is common in lumpectomies, a small reflector the size of a grain of rice is placed into the breast prior to the day of surgery. During a lumpectomy, the Scout system uses its unique radar signal to detect the reflector and locate target tissue to an accuracy of ±1 mm. This level of precision means more successful surgeries and better outcomes for women.
Our highly trained specialists also work in several premier hospitals,2 where they can perform more comprehensive surgical procedures and even robotic surgery.
Our pursuit of the safest and most effective treatments can take us beyond traditional treatments, leading to clinical trials. Kaiser Permanente has met the stringent requirements for membership in several research collaboratives, expanding the options for in-house clinical trials at our medical centers. Many other trials are available for referral at well-known institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Johns Hopkins University. Although not suitable for all cancer patients, trials are always on the minds of our doctors, whether they’re our own or those conducted by others. However, there are doctors in the community who prefer to not send patients to trials for fear of losing the income generated if patients are treated in their private offices. Some other doctors at universities aggressively push clinical trials. Kaiser Permanente doctors want to match the patient with the right trial—the one that they believe will result in the best outcome. At present, between 6 and 8% of our diagnosed cancer patients are in clinical trials.
The Strata Precision Oncology Network is the leading network for investigators and biopharma to design and conduct potentially transformative precision cancer therapy studies. Kaiser Permanente is the only health system in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, participating in these therapy trials. Among other advantages, members of the network leverage Strata’s precision oncology platform to implement a comprehensive, streamlined program for routine tumor molecular profiling, efficient use of molecular data, and precision therapy trials.
Care outside of Kaiser Permanente
Sometimes, cancer care requires a unique specialist or surgeon who’s not part of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. Or tests and treatments require extremely specialized facilities, equipment, or procedures that we do not provide. On those rare occasions, we coordinate your care with carefully chosen specialists and facilities that have a track record of success and are often designated as regional or national centers of excellence for their specialty.
Cancer care is a team endeavor. That’s why we bring a 360-degree approach to your care and also provide an extensive support system that surrounds your treatment and provides healthier outcomes. Your cure is our commitment. No matter what your journey, our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals work hand in hand from the moment you’re diagnosed and throughout your treatments.
For patients with complex or compromised conditions, including cancer, we provide highly personal, intensive one-to-one outreach to engage them in their care. To help them get to their appointments and comply with their prescribed treatments and medications, we seek to eliminate obstacles to care, such as cost concerns; lack of mobility; and transportation, cultural, mental health, and other issues.
Every year, thousands of survivors – the newly diagnosed, the long-term survivors, and their families – all join our physicians at Cancer Survivor Day to learn, to connect, and to celebrate life.
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