Cancer Treatment in Tavares

It’s time to focus on your healing — we’ll take care of the rest. Our Cancer Care Navigators are specially trained registered nurses dedicated to coordinating your cancer care services and answering your questions. From scheduling appointments and connecting with your medical team to providing information about financial resources and easing your mind about logistics, your dedicated navigator serves as a point of contact for all your care needs.

Your body is made up of a lot of different organs. We want to care for every part. We have oncologists in our Tavares hospital who care for a range of cancers, including:

• Brain and Spine Cancers
• Breast Cancer
• Gastrointestinal Cancers, Including Liver, Stomach, Colorectal, and Pancreatic
• Genitourinary Cancers, Including Prostate, Kidney, Bladder, and Testicular
• Gynecologic Cancers
• Head and Neck Cancers
• Lung and Esophageal Cancers
• Skin Cancers and Melanoma

Be confident in your care. Trust in a hospital and a network with the answers. At AdventHealth Waterman, we use some of the most innovative technologies in diagnosing and treating cancer. Beyond our hospital walls, you’ll have access to even more options within the AdventHealth Cancer Institute in Orlando, like genetic counseling.

Specialized Care Tailored to You

Here, we can care for you with leading cancer treatments and diagnostic tools, including:

• Chemotherapy and Radiation — Treatments that help shrink and destroy cancer cells and prevent them from spreading
• Diagnostic Technologies — CT scans, MRIs, mammograms, X-rays, and more
• Spacer OAR Insertion — A procedure that treats prostate cancer without exposing the rectum to radiation
• Targeted and Biological Therapies — Alternative options that work to stop cancer cells from growing and spreading
• The TrueBeam Accelerator — The latest development in radiation therapy, delivering safer, faster, and more accurate cancer care
• Unsealed Radionuclide Radiotherapy — Targeted radiation therapy given by ingestion or by injecting a radioactive substance into the bloodstream or a body cavity

Multiple Specialists Centered Around Your Care

You want to receive the very best in Cancer Care, and that's what we're here to give you. To provide you with more accurate, comprehensive care, we've assembled a multidisciplinary tumor board that includes radiologists, oncologists, cancer surgeons, physicians, nurses, and other medical specialists. Each week a team of our specialty physicians meets to review and discuss individual cases before recommending the best course of treatment. During these weekly tumor board meetings, each case is also reviewed against the Clinical Practice Guidelines established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of leading cancer centers. These guidelines offer additional clinical evidence and support to ensure our patients are receiving the best treatment options.

When it comes to Cancer Care, you can never have too much support.

Our radiation oncology team uses some of the most advanced radiation therapies available. These include:

• External Beam Radiation Therapy — A common form of radiotherapy where the radiation is directed toward targeted parts of the body from outside
• Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery — A non-invasive and very precise form of radiation therapy that replaces the surgeon’s scalpel with multiple narrow beams of radiation targeted to a specific area
• High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy — Radiation therapy that delivers precise, high-dose radiation with different types available depending on your needs; our services include SAVI® Brachy for breast cancer and high dose rate care for gynecologic, skin, and prostate cancer
• Image-Guided Radiation Therapy — The most advanced form of radiation available, allowing for the most precise tumor visualization possible
• Low Dose Rate (LDR) Brachytherapy — Internal therapy that delivers targeted radiation from implants placed in the cancerous organ
• Stereotactic Radiosurgery — A nonsurgical form of radiation therapy used to treat cancers of the brain and lungs

Vision RT Technology

AdventHealth Waterman is the only health care provider in Lake County that uses surface-guided radiation therapy with specialized tracking technology to treat breast cancer. During radiation therapy, this unique system tracks a patient’s position to aid in set-up and provide more precise delivery of treatment. An additional benefit is that it will also provide better protection to healthy organs, such as your heart.

​​​​​​Our experts specialize in the surgical management of a wide variety of cancers. We perform some of the most advanced, minimally invasive and non-invasive techniques available to help treat, prevent and diagnose cancer. We also offer surgical pain-management options and coordinated reconstructive surgery plans. Whenever possible, our experts offer minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, which afford our patients a shorter recovery time and less risk of complications.

You are not alone in the fight against cancer. AdventHealth provides the latest advances in treatment through clinical trials. These studies give patients direct access to promising new therapies, medications and diagnostics. Our goal is to identify new and better ways to treat and prevent cancer and improve the quality of life during and after treatment. Most of our clinical trials come at no additional cost to participants.

AdventHealth Waterman is the only hospital in Lake County now offering a robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive lung biopsies. The Ion Endoluminal System is made by Intuitive and represents an advancement in the existing approaches to lung biopsy by allowing physicians to obtain tissue samples from deep within the lung, addressing a challenging aspect of a lung biopsy.

When it comes to lung biopsies, precision and efficiency is key. We’re dedicated to ensuring that biopsies are safe and simple, and effective. Patients can have possible lung cancer diagnosed and staged in one procedure.

The Ion Robotic Bronchoscopic Platforms offers:

• An ultra-thin, highly maneuverable catheter that enables doctors to navigate far into the peripheral lung
• Unprecedented stability increases the precision needed for biopsy compared to previous techniques
• Combined with advanced imaging, we can confirm the target is reached in real time, further increasing accuracy and safety.
• The physician uses the controller to navigate to the target anywhere in the lung along a planned path
• Ion’s peripheral vision probe provides direct vision during navigation
• Vast majority of patients go home the same day

Our streamlined biopsy process is designed to improve your experience and make your care more convenient. All pre-procedure tests (including labs and CT scans) are completed the same day as your robotic procedure. This means that you will most likely only need to visit the hospital once.

You’re in great hands, here. We’re committed to helping you feel cared for long after you start to feel better, with rehabilitative services, social workers and licensed oncology social workers who are available for individual or family counseling.

Our support groups and classes include:

General Cancer Support Group: First Thursday of the Month From 4 to 5 pm

This is a structured group designed to help cancer patients tap into sources of meaning to enhance their quality of life and ability to cope with their illnesses.

Spanish-Speaking Support Group: Last Tuesday of the Month From 2 to 3 pm

Our Spanish-speaking group is designed to offer information, resources, support and encouragement to all cancer patients.

Breast Cancer Support Group: Third Thursday of the Month From 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

This group is designed for women diagnosed with breast cancer to gain information and support throughout the treatment and recovery process.

Gynecologic Cancer Support Group: Second Tuesday of the Month From 2 to 3 pm

This support group is for women diagnosed with gynecologic cancer and offers information, resources, support and encouragement. The facilitator is Grasiela Da Silva, MSW.

Virtual Gentle Yoga for Patients, Caregivers and Survivors: Tuesdays at 5 pm on Zoom

Cancer patients, caregivers and survivors can join this free, restorative, gentle yoga class with a certified instructor through the Christina Phipps Foundation.

​​​​​​AdventHealth believes that comprehensive health care embraces the whole person —mind, body and spirit. That’s why we offer psychosocial support with licensed, clinical social workers. This team assist patients and their families through the emotional and practical challenges often associated with a cancer diagnosis.

We’re here to help you navigate each part of your cancer diagnosis, including billing, insurance and financial assistance services. A dedicated financial counselor is available to help you review alternate payment options and create a payment plan if needed. They can also help connect you to resources for financial assistance.

Our palliative care staff will work with your medical team on your behalf to reduce symptoms, ease pain and improve your quality of life. Our treatment plans can include palliative chemotherapy or surgical procedures to provide relief and support your spirit. We’ll guide you along the way. Our skilled team of palliative care specialists is trained in understanding your needs and effectively advocating for you to your team of doctors.

Individual nutritional assessment and education services are available by a registered, licensed dietician. These services focus on the unique eating and nutritional challenges faced by people living with cancer. Goals of nutritional counseling are to maximize the body’s ability to respond to cancer treatment and to minimize nutritionally related distress from side effects of cancer treatment. If nutritional counseling is not covered by insurance, there is a fee.

Are you experiencing poor appetite? Does food taste different? Are you having trouble maintaining your weight? Are you unsure of what to eat during or after cancer treatment? Our Oncology Dietician, Diane Tan, RDN, LD offers dietary consultations to suit your needs, including:

• 1:1 personalized nutrition
• Tips to manage side effects and weight
• Tube feeding management
• Recipe ideas

For more information, contact Diane at Call352-253-6849.

​​​​​​We seek to improve outcomes for cancer patients beyond treatment, all the way through rehabilitation and survivorship. We offer one-on-one physical and occupational therapy and develop programs to assist patients who are going through chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Rehabilitation regimens are customized according to your prior fitness level, type of cancer and overall care plan.

We offer bra and form fittings for women who have undergone a mastectomy. Specialists are also available to provide therapeutic treatment for lymphedema — swelling caused by blockage of the lymphatic system.

Our AdventHealth Waterman Foundation partners with EBeauty Community to provide our patients and cancer survivors experiencing medical hair loss with up to two free wigs per year, plus professional styling and fittings.

Our Strands of Hope program was created to:

• Boost patients’ confidence
• Improve quality of life during a patient’s cancer journey and through survivorship
• Provide a sense of normalcy during treatment
• Support a holistic approach to patient care

One-hour consultation appointments with a trained wig fitter are available on Tuesdays from 8 am to 4 pm or other weekdays by request. To schedule your consultation, please call 352-253-3047.