Collaboration strengthens both practices, enhancing patient care, research opportunities and access to services throughout Northern Florida
Ocala, Fla. (December 1, 2016) — Florida Cancer Affiliates ( FCA), a premier provider of advanced cancer care services in Florida, announced that Blood & Cancer Center has joined its practice. Anju Vasudevan, M.D., and Cecil Robertson, M.D., oncologists and hematologists with Blood & Cancer Center, will unite with Florida Cancer Affiliate’s group of physicians to provide comprehensive state-of-the-art cancer care in convenient, patient-friendly community settings. FCA is an affiliate of The US Oncology Network (The Network), one of the nation’s largest networks of integrated community-based oncology practices.
“Our first priority is to provide high-quality care to our patients,” said Dr. Vasudevan, founding member of Blood & Cancer Center. “By uniting with Florida Cancer Affiliates and The US Oncology Network, we can continue building on our tradition of excellence by enhancing our patient care services as well as expanding our clinical trial program through US Oncology Research, one of the largest community-based oncology research programs in the United States.”
By joining FCA, Blood & Cancer Center physicians can collaborate with an expanded physician community of more than 1,000 through The US Oncology Network. As members of The Network, physicians and clinicians share expertise and best practices through committees, workshops, conferences and via The Oncology Portal, a secure on-line portal where physicians can share data and collaborate on complex cases. Blood & Cancer Center physicians will also be able to utilize Value Pathways powered by NCCNTM—evidence-based treatment guidelines developed by physicians and clinicians in The Network together with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network®(NCCN®).
Blood & Cancer Center also gains access to innovative technologies and services that will further support their operational efficiency. Additionally, The Network provides strong and comprehensive practice management capabilities and value-based care expertise that are critical for practices navigating today’s challenging healthcare landscape.
Drs. Vasudevan and Robertson have decades of experience in cancer care. Dr. Vasudevan completed her residency at Bergen Pines County Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey and was a fellow at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Robertson received his medical degree at State University of New York at Buffalo and completed a combined hematology and oncology fellowship at Queens Hospital Center.
“Drs. Vasudevan and Robertson are extremely well respected in the cancer care community and having them join our practice makes our team even stronger, enhancing our ability to serve the patient population with high-quality, compassionate care,” said Rama Balaraman, M.D., oncologist with FCA. “Our collaboration with these like-minded, highly-trained physicians who share our vision of providing leading-edge community-based care is a perfect fit.”
About Florida Cancer Affiliates
Florida Cancer Affiliates (FCA) is a community-based radiation oncology, medical oncology, and hematology practice with convenient locations throughout Florida, from Naples and Ft. Myers to Trinity, Hudson, Brooksville, The Villages, Ocala and Panama City. The integrated clinical team of FCA employs the latest technologies and drug therapies to ensure patients receive advanced care close to home. The comprehensive treatment centers include outpatient treatment and diagnostic facilities providing chemotherapy, hematology services, radiation therapy including stereotactic and PET/CT imaging, clinical research, pharmacy and laboratory, as well as financial counseling and patient support services.
The practice is committed to providing patients with advanced care. They offer therapies proven to be effective, along with advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies. They also provide access to new investigational drugs through clinical trials. By participating in clinical trials that test new drugs or various combinations of treatments, patients have the opportunity to receive new therapies not yet available outside these clinical trials. To learn more about Florida Cancer Affiliates, go to www.floridacancer.com.
Florida Cancer Affiliates is united in healing with The US Oncology Network, one of the nation’s largest networks of integrated community-based oncology practices dedicated to advancing high-quality, evidence-based cancer care. As an affiliate of The US Oncology Network, FCA is united with more than 1,000 physicians nationwide. Florida Cancer Affiliates participates in clinical trials through US Oncology Research, which has played a role in more than 60 FDA-approved cancer therapies, nearly one-third of all cancer therapies approved by the FDA to date. For more information, visit www.usoncology.com.