Spokane Valley Cancer Center has joined the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Network, giving patients here expanded treatment options, says Dr. Arvind Chaudhry, a medical oncologist and director of the center.

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance also provides Spokane Valley Cancer Center additional support for community-based oncology services, including continuing medical education, rapid second opinions, and arranging for local patients to enroll in clinical trials, Chaudhry says.

In many cases, patients here will have the same access to the advances in treatments and technology as is available at top clinics in Seattle without having to travel there, he asserts.

Spokane Valley Cancer Center last year opened a 22,000-square-foot facility at 13424 E. Mission, a half mile east of Valley Hospital. The center is operated by Medical Oncology Associates PS, which has five permanent providers. 

The center also works with a host of specialists from throughout the Inland Northwest to offer an integrated approach to treatment, with services including diagnostic imaging, medical oncology, radiation oncology, innovative research, a specialized oral pharmacy, and patient and family support. 

Multispecialty teams consult as a group called a tumor board to discuss patient cases and develop individualized cancer treatment plans.

As a member of the alliance, Spokane Valley Cancer Center also will have regular consultations with physicians tied to research institutions in Seattle’s medical community, Chaudhry says.

A key benefit of the alliance will be increased opportunities for cancer patients to participate in clinical trials in which they can be involved in new treatments and contribute to medical research, he says.

Currently less than 5 percent of adult cancer patients participate in clinical trials.

“Novel treatments are hard to access unless the patient goes to world-class treatment facilities,” he says, adding that the alliance will increase such access to Spokane-area patients.

Major Seattle-based medical research centers within the alliance include Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of Washington Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The alliance also has clinical care sites at two other Seattle-area hospitals and a proton therapy center.

In addition to the Spokane Valley Cancer Center, Medical Oncology Associates operates an 11,300-square-foot clinic at 6001 N. Mayfair, a block northwest of Providence Holy Family Hospital, and satellite clinics in Colville and Colfax. In all, the practice has a support staff of 35 employees.

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is the second network to align with Inland Northwest health care providers for cancer treatment in as many years.

Spokane-based Providence Health Care, Spokane Valley-based Cancer Care Northwest PS, and Coeur d’Alene-based Kootenai Health formed a similar cancer-care alliance last year.