When you come through our doors you receive cancer care services unlike any other in a comfortable atmosphere. A dedicated nurse navigator works with patients and referring providers to facilitate scheduling appointments and obtaining records.

Ochsner physicians specialize in all types of cancer and as many as 20 cancer specialists care for each of our patients. In the past year, Ochsner has provided care that is both personalized and state-of-the-art to more than 15,000 cancer patients.

At Ochsner, adult and pediatric cancer patients benefit from a collaborative approach to cancer care by a highly skilled team of physicians, oncology nurses, social workers, researchers and other healthcare professionals. What’s more, your referring physician remains part of our team and will be kept in the loop on your treatment and progress.

Ochsner’s multidisciplinary approach means you have a whole network to lean on – and each member of the team knows what the other is thinking and doing. Ours is an environment that fosters innovation and collaboration. Everyone is on the same page – everyone has the same information and the same goals.

At Ochsner, appointments are scheduled with your comfort and convenience in mind. Team members keep compatible office hours to make it easier for you to see more than one doctor on the same day. When you’re not feeling well, you want a team that works around your needs, not theirs.

Living with cancer comes with unique challenges, and a calming and supportive environment can foster healing. Our patients can choose to receive care in these Ochsner locations:

• Tom and Gayle Benson Cancer Center
• Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner
• Ochsner Baptist
• Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus
• Ochsner St. Anne Hospital
• Ochsner Health Center – Luling
• Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove
• Ochsner Cancer Center Baton Rouge
• Slidell Memorial Hospital Regional Cancer Center
• St. Tammany Cancer Center: A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center
• Ochsner Medical Center – Hancock (Bay St. Louis)
• Ochsner Cancer Center of Acadiana at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center

• 2019: Benson Cancer Center Earns National Re-accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. Read more about our re-accreditation.

• 2018: Ochsner Health is recognized by the QOPI (Quality Oncology Practice Initiative) Certification Program for meeting nationally recognized standards for high quality cancer care. Ochsner is the only health system in the New Orleans region with an Oncology practice certification. Read more about this recognition and what it means for care of our patients.

• Ochsner Cancer Institute is proud to be a Commission on Cancer accredited cancer program. Programs with this distinction have demonstrated an uncompromising commitment to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients by providing the highest-quality, patient-centered cancer care. Learn more at facs.org/coc
• Nationally recognized as High Performing for Lung Cancer Surgery by U.S. News & World Report in 2021-2022.
• Nationally recognized as High Performing for Colon Cancer Surgery by U.S. News & World Report in 2021-2022.

Every year, millions of new cancer cases are diagnosed in the U.S. Here in the Gulf South, patients are treated by some of the most talented surgical oncologists in the country – a team passionate about treating the whole person, not just the disease. You don’t have to leave home for superior, leading-edge care ­­­– you’ll find it right here at Ochsner.

Why Ochsner for Cancer Surgery?

The Surgical Oncology division at Ochsner offers collaborative, comprehensive, award-winning care.

Over the years, Ochsner surgeons have pioneered minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and robotic surgery. Our team has a level of experience with complex, high-risk procedures matched by only a small handful of surgeons in the United States.

Procedures We Perform

Procedures we perform include:

• Robotic esophagectomy
• Complex Whipple resections with vascular reconstruction
• Major liver resection, including surgery for multiple lesions requiring adjunctive techniques such as portal vein embolization, microwave ablation, vascular reconstruction, and hepatic artery chemo or radioembolization
• Plastic and reconstructive surgery
• Novalis radiosurgery

Ochsner offers procedures not available elsewhere in the community, including:

• Complex Whipple resections after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation
• Robotic esophageal cancer resections
• Surgically resected cancers are submitted for genetic and molecular profiling to determine if targeted therapies are available for the cancer treatment

Ochsner Prehabilitation Program

Ochsner surgical patients benefit from our state-of-the-art Prehabilitation program, designed to improve recovery time following surgery. By increasing physical activity prior to surgery, our bodies are better able to endure the stress of inactivity during recovery. Ask your doctor for more information.

The Ochsner Center for Radiation Oncology offers the most advanced radiation treatment procedures and equipment in the Gulf South, as well as the most experienced, well-trained personnel who provide treatments customized for each patient. Other specialized services at Ochsner include:

• Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
• Sterotactic radiosurgery/therapy using conformal fields of IMRT
• Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) with the Varian Trilogy Linear accelerator, the first of its kind in the City of New Orleans

The Ochsner Radiation Team consists of two radiation oncologists, two MS physicists, two dosimetrists, six therapists and two nurses. Although each physician treats all forms of cancer, each doctor has specific areas of interest, including breast and prostate cancers, brain tumors and the treatment of children with cancer.

Demonstrating their commitment to the needs of children with cancer, Ochsner staff members, working with their pediatric patients, have developed The Radiation Therapy Coloring and Activity Book: A Child's Eye View of Radiation Therapy to help explain radiation therapy to children.

The Ochsner Radiation Therapy Team deals with the anxieties of patients and their families in many ways. The staff has produced a videotape to show patients prior to treatment, explaining how radiation works to control cancer and what can be expected during and after treatment. The oncology nurses and staff make a concerted effort to prepare patients to prevent and recognize side effects of treatment, to encourage their questions and to actively participate in the treatment process.

A customized treatment plan is prescribed for each patient, which is designed by computer simulation. The Ochsner Center for Radiation Oncology is dedicated to individualized quality care of patients and prides itself on the abilities and compassion of its staff.

For more information, the Radiation Oncology staff can be contacted at 504-842-3440.