A strong tradition of exceptional care
The Division of Hematology/Oncology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston was founded by Dr. William Dameshek, the first president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and one of the world’s pre-eminent hematologists. Since then, our Division has grown significantly and continued to flourish, now overseeing more than 25,000 outpatient visits and treatments per year at the state-of-the-art Tufts Cancer Center at Tufts Medical Center.
We are fortunate to have many National and International Medical Oncology and Hematology experts in multiple different cancers including bone marrow/stem cell transplantation, benign blood disorders, and transfusion medicine. Furthermore, we have a number of "multidisciplinary clinics" that involve multiple cancer specialists (e.g., oncologists, surgical oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists) seeing the patient in succession on the same day to coordinate the best possible care for every patient. Moreover, we place a significant emphasis on exceptional humanistic care.
We also offer patients a wide range of supportive care resources and highly specialized facilities and programs. Our Bone Marrow and Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Program was the first program in Boston to be nationally certified as a transplant and donor collection center. Additionally, the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Tufts Medical Center is the first program in Boston to deliver personalized, multidisciplinary care tailored to the patients age and disease with emphasis on survivorship-based care including management of complications or "late effects," such as fertility issues, bone issues, or heart problems related to cancer treatments.
Using research and training to enhance patient care
Our division is home to an ACGME accredited Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program that provides training in all aspects of hematology and oncology. The program provides in-depth clinical instruction and research training, so that our graduates can go on to become leaders in the field of Hematology and Medical Oncology. In fact, a significant number of our alumni now head major academic hematology and oncology programs throughout the world.
In addition to our excellent training program, our division has a strong presence in clinical research. Many of our staff are part of the Neely Center for Clinical Cancer Research, which provides patients access to important new cancer studies and research. Doctors from our division also serve as principal investigators on National cancer clinical trials from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) as well as pharmaceutical studies, which in part give us access to new and cutting edge diagnostics and novel treatment agents for patients. Furthermore, we have a number of available investigator-initiated clinical trials and research projects that are helping to find new and innovative ways to treat cancer. These studies and the associated patient care are led by a number of National and International cancer specialists such as Dr. Raymond Comenzo (amyloidosis/multiple myeloma), Dr. Jack Erban (breast cancer), Dr. Wasif Saif (gastrointestinal cancers), Dr. Kenneth Miller (leukemia/stem cell transplant) and Dr. Andrew Evens (lymphoma).
We are also very fortunate to have access and the ability to collaborate with a variety of other prominent researchers and research institutes on the Tufts campuses. This includes our pre-clinical/laboratory colleagues at the Tufts Molecular Oncology Research Institute (MORI), the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, and the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University (TCSVM). The MORI of Tufts Medical Center is a core component of the Tufts Cancer Center having multiple scientists and translational experts studying molecular mechanisms of multiple neoplasms and promoting the translation of critical basic research findings into the clinic/bedside.
