eHealthWatch EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Richard Levine, Space Coast Cancer Center Foundation chairman, and president of Space Coast Cancer Center, presents the Survivor of the Year Award to Susan Rys and her husband Ian Rys at the 2009 Daffodil Gala.

Space Coast Cancer Center Survivorship Summit Friday, Oct. 16

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The second annual Space Coast Cancer Center Foundation Survivorship Summit will be held in conjunction with the Moffitt Cancer Center this Friday, Oct. 16, at the Great Outdoors RV and Golf Resort in Titusville. The featured speaker will be Paul Jacobsen, PhD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

Dr. Paul Jacobsen

Dr. Jacobsen’s work focuses on identifying and promoting behaviors that can lead to reductions in cancer risk, earlier detection of cancer and improved quality of life following cancer diagnosis – which are all themes of the the Summit’s program that is formatted to educate patients, help identify goals including establishing effective communication, find each patient’s health needs, implement a plan of care that combines psychosocial and biomedical services.

The program also includes presentations and survivorship stories.

As the program leader for Health Outcomes and Behavior for Moffitt, Dr. Jacobsen is also division chief for Psychosocial & Palliative Care, and scientific director for the Survey Methods Core Facility. With Moffitt since 1994, Dr. Jacobsen is a professor of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Oncology at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Jacobsen received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Michigan State University in 1983. He completed a postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychosocial Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and was subsequently appointed to the professional staff.

Dr. Jacobsen is the author of more than 120 publications and the recipient of numerous grants in support of his research from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. While at Sloan-Kettering, he served as director of research training in Psychosocial Oncology and initiated a program of research in Behavioral Oncology.

THE WORDS “Hope,” “Health” and “Healing” greet visitors to the reception area at Space Coast Cancer Center. Above, volunteers, from left to right, include Joyce Hartung, Roseann Romans, Patient Advocate and Navigator Barbara Prisco, Carol Selph, Nancy Scott and Dawn Galogly.

“Hope,” “Health,” “Healing”

The Space Coast Cancer Center’s Titusville, Florida complex state-of-the-art facility includes a comprehensive network of services so patients may concentrate on the road to recovery. “Hope,” “Health,” “Healing,” are words that adorn the reception area – and also form the philosophy behind the Center.

When his north county practice outgrew its former 3,400-square-foot building, Dr. Richard Levine, past president of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncologists, jumped at the opportunity to incorporate the latest trends in oncology into the impressive multi-million dollar, 22,000-square-foot building located on US 1 in Titusville.

The Center has a staff of 68, including nine physicians and two nurse practitioners. Sister offices are located in Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach and  Rockledge. Dr. Levine, in Brevard since 1983, has a deep connection with the community and still maintains regular contact with patients from his first year in practice. “They have become family,” he says.

Model For Cancer Care

The Space Coast Center is one of 17 facilities in the state affiliated with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. The Center offers on-site clinical trials in collaboration with Moffitt as well as with Shands Cancer Centers and the National Cancer Institute, and is one of only three oncology practices participating in quality care studies with Moffitt Cancer Center and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

“It’s a way for us to look at ourselves and see what our levels of care are,” says Dr. Levine.

In the Space Coast Cancer Center’s building, Dr. Levine and his staff successfully blended the best medical technology and care available with services that also address cancer patients’ emotional needs.

“This is the future of oncology,” says Levine. “This is the proper medical model for cancer care.”

Survivorship Summit Program Schedule

Dr. Cynthia Bryant

9:00 – 9:45 am: Registration and refreshments.

10:00 am: Paul Jacobsen, PhD, Chair and Program Leader, Health Outcomes and Behavior Department Psychosocial and Palliative Care, Moffitt Cancer Center.

11:00 am: Cynthia Bryant, MD, Radiation Oncologist, Space Coast Cancer Center, presents “How Advances in Technology Can Minimize Long Term Sequelae of Radiation Treatment.”

11:45 am: R. Duff Sprawls, MD, Medical Oncologist, Space Coast Cancer Center, presents “New Advances in Targeted Therapy of Cancer.”

12:30 pm: Buffet Luncheon and Survivor Presentations by Ms. Theresa Scherer, Mr. Kurt Erlenbach and Ms. Rosemary Herring.

Dr. R. Duff Sprawls

1:30 pm: David Greenblum, MD, Psychiatrist, presents “Emotional Response to Cancer.”

2:15 pm: Bharat Patel, MD, Pain Management, Physiatry presents “Management of Chronic Pain Syndromes.”

2:45 pm: Intermission and refreshments.

3:00 pm: Robert Bridwell, MD, West Virginia, presents “The Role of PET/CT in the Diagnosis and Management of Cancer.”

4:00 pm: Conclusion of program.

The Great Outdoors RV and Golf Resort is located at 145 Plantation Drive in Titusville, Florida, just off I-95 at State Road 50.  Please call 321-268-4200, ext. 3500 for more information.

Related posts:

1. Physicians, Survivors Inspire at Space Coast Cancer Center Summit
2. Space Coast Cancer Center Hosts Screening
3. Dr. Cuscela Named Affiliate of H. Lee Moffitt Center and Research Institute