Cutting the Big C Down to Size at Queen’s
Darlena Chadwick and Dr. Diane Thompson prepare to welcome the first patients to the new Queen’s Cancer
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“I remember going through this with my daughter,” Chadwick says. “I recall what was missing ... what I needed and wanted at the time. It’s filling those gaps for people who have to face the same challenge.”
Thompson adds, “Anyone who has been touched by cancer will be impressed with what we’ve done. Our goal is to give patients as much control as possible at a time when it feels like there’s a total loss of it.”
Thompson has done extensive cancer research, including psychopharmacology, interface of mood and medical illness, and quality-of-life measures.
Chadwick, a registered nurse, is in charge of oncology, women’s health, imaging services and a number of other departments within the Queen’s Medical Center. Before joining Queen’s two years ago, she was involved in oncology care at Hawaii Pacific Health and Kuakini Health System.
“Taking care of cancer patients wasn’t enough,” Chadwick says of her career. “I wanted to change the entire process so I could make a greater impact. And if you’re going to make change, you have to be in charge.”
Queen’s’ patient navigation program leads Hawaii in innovation and has drawn national recognition. Highly trained individuals called patient navigators coordinate all aspects of cancer care, including appointments, education, chemotherapy, imaging services, inpatient-to-outpatient transitions and nutritional needs. Neighbor Islanders, also facing transportation and housing issues, value the work of navigators.
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Gov. Ben Cayetano’s blue ribbon panel on cancer care laid the groundwork for examining these issues eight years ago. The panel identified nine ways to improve cancer care in Hawaii, from accessibility to high-quality measurable outcomes.
“We brainstormed and said we’re going to cover all the bases,” Chadwick says. “We involved everybody in the planning process and listened intently.”
The result is a model of coordinated patient care that will undoubtedly set the standard for other treatments as well. The Queen’s Cancer Center set the bar as high as possible, matching its standards against world-class facilities such as the H.E.
Moffit Center in Florida and M.D. Anderson Center in Texas.
Grand opening of the Cancer Center will be Nov. 7. It’s a date that will likely go down in the annals of Hawaii health care. Just as Aug. 1, 1859, marked the opening of Hawaii’s first hospital by King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, who established Queen’s to save Hawaiian people from extinction.
Go see the new Queen’s Cancer Center, whether you are dealing with cancer or not. It is an impressive facility for its aesthetic and professional design. It is a source of pride to those who planned and constructed it. They call it a “dream come true.”
This doesn’t relegate existing cancer centers to second-class status. Certainly not. All are doing vital work for desperately needed services. But now Hawaii can say it does not take a back seat in cancer care to any other state.
As Clayton Chong, M.D., Queen’s’ chief medical oncologist, states: “Our Cancer Center means the people of Hawaii no longer need to travel to the Mainland to get the best possible cancer care. In addition to the best technology available, our mission is to deliver care in a way that treats the whole person, the entire patient and the challenges he or she faces when diagnosed with cancer. I’m very excited about what this means for the future of patient care in Hawaii.”
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