Dana -Farber Cancer Institute

ONE DAY, YOU are healthy. Perhaps, there is an unexplained yet lingering ache or symptom. A few days later, you receive the diagnosis: you have cancer.

As physicians, we have delivered this life-altering news to far too many patients and their families. Unfortunately, this scenario has become ever more common. The number of new cancer cases is expected to increase by nearly 50 percent in the decade between 2015 and 2025. In the US, 40 percent of the population will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime.

Fortunately, Massachusetts is home to some of the world’s leading health care organizations, oncology clinicians, and researchers. Lifesaving treatments are discovered and advanced here, making the most innovative technologies, therapeutics, and cures available to cancer patients.

While this is encouraging, it is the result of decades of bold investments in research and continuous improvements in the standards of care. Physicians are never satisfied with the status quo. There will always be more we must do to battle this cruel disease. This is why Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians intend to form a clinical collaboration at the center of which will be our region’s only free-standing adult inpatient cancer hospital. This new approach brings together world-class clinicians to deliver transformational, precision medicine in an environment solely dedicated to defying cancer. We are excited for what that future can hold.  

Based on our dual positions as physician leaders within our two hospitals and our experience treating cancer patients, we know there is proven value, and a clear need, for a dedicated cancer hospital in Boston for several compelling reasons.     

First and always, as physicians we focus on our patients, and we know that cancer patients have distinct needs. They are at higher risk for infection, so they do better in special protective environments than in general emergency departments, outpatient settings, urgent care, or non-specialty hospitals.

They benefit from highly specialized doctors who are familiar with the complicated medication regimens and their sometimes unique side effects. They benefit from specialized nurses who understand their chemotherapy infusion ports, treatment side effects, pain management needs, and special wound care issues, with the ability to spot problems early to avoid complications. And they benefit from additional care resources targeted to their specialized needs, including nutrition and pharmacy, as well as quality of life support such as psychological counseling and oncologic palliative care.

In fact, recent studies show that patients treated at dedicated cancer centers have higher four-year survival rates and a lower overall risk of mortality than those treated along with the general population at acute care hospitals or community hospitals. Further, while outpatient treatment options have expanded, there will always be a need for inpatient cancer care, especially for the most specialized cases. Due to the development of innovative therapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy, that are best delivered in an inpatient setting, this need will only increase in tandem with rising cancer rates. 

Then too, a dedicated cancer hospital will help alleviate the pressing challenges of insufficient inpatient capacity. Dana-Farber, a world-renowned leader in cancer care, currently provides 30 inpatient beds through its nearly 30-year affiliation with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The proposed new hospital would offer 300 inpatient beds. The additional capacity will not only create expanded access for cancer patients, but it will also remove cancer patients from already overcrowded emergency departments, and free up more general hospital beds for patients in other hospitals waiting for tertiary care beds across our state.

As physicians, we understand the many benefits that a cancer-only hospital can deliver for future generations of cancer patients and their families. Dedicated cancer hospitals have proven their value in other major cities, and at least six prominent cancer centers in other regions of the country have announced plans to build new dedicated cancer hospitals. The increasing number of cancer patients, the intensity of their care, and the unique aspects of their needs are among the reasons why dedicated cancer hospitals make intuitive sense. And, they are more effective, efficient, and attuned to the clinical and non-clinical needs of the patient and their family.

As we chart the path forward on what the future of cancer care will be, the best interests of patients must remain the focus. As physicians, this is our focus and we believe this is a unique opportunity that allows the next generation of doctors to make good on our enduring promise to continually deliver the most advanced cancer care to the patients of tomorrow.  

Dr. Alexa B. Kimball is president and CEO of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Craig A. Bunnell is chief medical officer of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.