Wellstar now offers advanced care for people with head and neck cancer — a complex disease that is often aggressive and requires coordination amongst multiple cancer experts. The new STAT Clinic for Head & Neck Cancer opened on the campus of Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center on August 11, 2022.
People with all types and stages of head and neck cancer now have access to expert care and advanced treatments that are typically only available at academic centers. Treatments available in North Fulton include complex excision and reconstruction with microvascular free tissue transfers as well as CyberKnife radiation treatments.
Technologically advanced CyberKnife care close to home
In Wellstar’s STAT Clinics — short for Specialty Teams and Treatments — patients can see multiple cancer subspecialists to be diagnosed, have questions answered and finalize a treatment plan in a single day. This reduces the need to drive to different locations and helps the patient start treatment faster.
“The concept of multidisciplinary care is tried and true and shown to be effective for cancer patients,” said Dr. Fiyin Sokoya, the head and neck cancer surgeon who co-founded the North Fulton STAT Clinic for Head & Neck Cancer. “This model decreases the time to proceed and receive care.”
First, a group of medical specialists including a head and neck oncological and facial plastic surgeon, a radiation oncologist, a medical oncologist, a pathologist and a neuroradiologist review the patient’s pathology and imaging as a group to diagnose, stage and create a personalized treatment plan.
Next, the patient and their family meet one-on-one with the head and neck cancer surgeon, radiation oncologist and medical oncologist. This is an opportunity for the patient to learn about the recommended treatments and ask questions.
“Traditionally, patients must drive to several different appointments to learn the stage of their cancer, meet with different specialists and make decisions,” said Dr. Nagender Mankan, the dedicated medical oncologist in the new STAT Clinic. “At that point, four to five weeks have gone by. In STAT Clinic, we are expediting the complicated decision-making process.”
The patient also meets with a nurse navigator. This specialized nurse helps coordinate many aspects of care for the patient including scheduling appointments and connecting patients with support team members, such as a registered dietitian, a speech therapist or a dentist who may help relieve irritation in the mouth and throat.
Why STAT Clinic is good for patients, and what to expect
When a STAT Clinic patient needs surgery, Dr. Sokoya is one of only a few surgeons in the region to perform complex excision and reconstruction with microvascular free tissue transfers.
“North Fulton has now become a destination center for head and neck cancer treatment because of our ability to offer advanced surgical care,” he explained. “The launch of this STAT Clinic is exciting, and it’s going to bring very advanced, high-level care to this area.”
Hundreds of patients travel to Roswell each year to seek Dr. Sokoya’s expertise from Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Patients from all over the Wellstar system are seeing Dr. Sokoya for complex head and neck cancer management,” said Dr. Mark McLaughlin, a Wellstar radiation oncologist who co-founded the STAT Clinic.
Adding the new clinic allows us to invite those patients to come to North Fulton for evaluation and discussion of treatment options. Then we can work with their hometown doctors.”
Technologically advanced CyberKnife care close to home
Patients of the STAT Clinic who are candidates for radiation therapy will soon have access to the latest CyberKnife technology when the new Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Cancer Center opens in early 2023. The CyberKnife radiation suite will be one of just two in the entire metro Atlanta area.
People with complex head and neck cancer such as large or recurrent tumors often benefit from CyberKnife radiation therapy. The technology minimizes radiation exposure to healthy tissue and limits side effects while shortening treatment courses. Normally patients receive five to eight weeks of radiation therapy. In many situations, they can complete their radiation course in as few as one to five treatments with CyberKnife.
“This highly advanced technology treats advanced head and neck cancers,” Dr. McLaughlin said. “You don’t have to go all the way into Atlanta.”
STAT Clinic for Head & Neck Cancer at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center is located at 4500 Hospital Blvd, Suite 120 in Roswell, Georgia. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the nurse navigator at (770) 751-2556.
