At the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, experts in specific types of cancer work together in single, collaborative care teams.

The care teams include specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, pathology, diagnostic radiology, and rehabilitation, as well as nurse coordinators for research and clinical care. Depending on the cancer site, other experts, including dentists, neurologists, and genetic counselors, may also be involved.

Team members meet regularly to evaluate and refine their patients' treatments and to discuss possible new therapies available through clinical trials.

Patients benefit not only from receiving leading-edge treatment by a team of specialists, but also by being able to rely on a primary contact—the care team's nurse coordinator—to coordinate appointments and ensure that each patient has a consistent, coordinated plan for diagnosis, staging, treatment, and follow-up.

The team approach also benefits referring physicians who are able to turn to the appropriate care team for advice, rather than consulting multiple individual specialists about unusual or complex cases.

To learn more about the Masonic Cancer Center's care teams:

• contact the Information Line, 1-888-CANCER MN (1-888-226-2376, toll-free in five-state area), 612-624-2620, or ccinfo@umn.edu. The information line is staffed by a cancer nurse and a community health specialist.

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• visit the Cancer Information section of this Web site. When you select a type of cancer from the list on the main page, you will go to a page that includes contact information for the team's nurse coordinator and the names of the care team's specialists with links to their clinical profiles.