One of the benefits of living in lower Westchester is that in many ways, the advantages of living in New York City have found their way to Westchester County. This is particularly true of medical care. As recently as the early 90s if anyone I knew or loved was stricken with cancer I would have sneered at the idea of having it treated locally and insisted that a place like Sloan Kettering was the ONLY game in town. Since I have a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences I knew from whence I spoke – but times change.
The Dickstein Cancer Center of White Plains, is the only freestanding cancer treatment center in Westchester County, NY. It is definitely state-of-the-art and so close at hand, that the need to travel into Manhattan for treatment is negated. Dickstein boasts an outpatient infusion center, radiation services including a linear accelerator, a cancer genetics program, and a resource library for patients and their families. In addition the cancer center also supports complementary therapies – such as yoga and meditation as well as support groups.
Dickstein opened its doors in 1999 and has served many Westchester residents during its short life. This past year White Plains Hospital Center – with which the Dickstein Center is affiliated - won the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. It was the only hospital in the New York metropolitan area to be recognized for the reward.
For my part, I am personally grateful for the Dickstein Cancer Center and White Plains Hospital Center. I got the fateful call that all children dread in June of last year. “I’m being put through a battery of tests – it seems I have a couple of masses that have to be checked out.” He had advanced colon cancer with liver metastasis and needed immediate surgery and chemotherapy or the results were going to be rapidly fatal. The treatment at White Plains and Dickstein has been nothing short of phenomenal. Complications kept my father hospitalized for nearly 4 weeks, a couple of them in ICU. Following rehab, he began chemotherapy. The doctors and nurses at Dickstein have been absolutely amazing. There were several serious problems with his medicare HMO and the nurses and administrative staff went to the WALL to help push his treatment through the red tape. Another wonderful feature is the valet parking. For a cancer patient undergoing treatment, being relieved of having to fight for limited downtown parking is a tremendous relief.
The Dickstein Cancer Center serves a vital function in lower Westchester bringing top-of-the-line specialty care to the “backwoods” of Westchester County.
* "Legacy of Cutting-Edge Cancer," by Jon. B. Schandler, The White Plains Times, June 14, 2007 was used as a reference for this post.
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