Skip to Content

Patient Services

Suspicion of Cancer Clinic

M. D. Anderson 's Suspicion of Cancer Program places a new emphasis on risk assessment and early detection of cancer. Our mission is to improve early and more accurate cancer diagnosis and contribute to the body of knowledge about cancer. The program focuses on detection of disease at an earlier and more curable stage by providing timely and accurate cancer diagnosis and aggressive treatment.

We have an outstanding and caring staff of physicians, nurses and other professionals. Our patient care is research driven, so we offer options others do not. Our clinics are multidisciplinary, so several minds come together to benefit each patient. A partial list of services provided by our physicians, nurses and other caregivers are:

  • Diagnostic testing with state-of-art technology to provide accurate and timely diagnosis for patients
  • Evaluation of patients referred by their physicians due to cancer symptoms
  • Diagnosis of self-referred patients who have been told they have a possible diagnosis of cancer
  • Our clinical trials offer treatment opportunities for difficult or aggressive tumors, and today's successes are tomorrow's new cancer therapies

Our specialists work closely with teams of physicians from other departments to provide the best and most recent developments in cancer treatment for our patients. Patients with cancer diagnosis have the option of receiving treatment at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center or returning to their referring physicians, or oncologist of choice. M. D. Anderson utilizes the combined compassion, skills and talent of its forces to battle cancer and to make a difference in the lives of our patients.

Internal Medicine Perioperative Assessment Center (IMPAC)

Mission: Assess and improve your medical status prior to surgery at M. D. Anderson. To do this, we need your assistance. 

We ask you to bring:

  • All your medicines in original bottles
  • Names and contact information of all your doctors, especially PCP or cardiology
  • Notify your cardiologist to fax to us your cardiac records or bring them to us

We may need to order additional testing, which may extend your stay in Houston.

We will make every effort to coordinate your medical care with your primary physician. Therefore, it is important for you to bring us their contact info.

Emergency Center

The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Emergency Center provides emergent and urgent treatment for established M. D. Anderson Cancer Center oncology patients as well as employees and visitors injured on the M. D. Anderson premises. Open 24 hours every day, the Emergency Center is staffed by registered nurses, unit services coordinators and patient care assistants under the management of General Internal Medicine physicians.

The Emergency Center features 19 single rooms and four semi-private rooms including those designated for isolation, code emergencies and gynecologic emergencies. Emergency Center facilities are also equipped with digital radiological imaging machines and cardiac monitoring systems.

Emergency Center services for established patients include care for:

  • Non-urgent to emergency conditions
  • Treatment-related side effects
  • Cancer related emergencies and non-cancer related emergencies
  • Comorbidities
  • Fluid and electrolyte replacement
  • Urgent blood product administration

Patients receive triage, medical screening and evaluation. Consultative services are also available.

Cancer Diagnosis Clinic

The Cancer Diagnosis Clinic offers a novel approach to the care of patients with suspected cancer. New patients or already established patients of M. D. Anderson are evaluated by an internal medicine physician in consultation with medical and surgical oncologists for the appropriate diagnosis of suspected cancer. 

Inpatient and Outpatient Consultation

An integrated team of General Internal Medicine physicians, nurse practitioners and internal medicine residents from The University of Texas Health Science Center see cancer patients on both an inpatient and outpatient basis in consultation at the request of M. D. Anderson cancer specialists. Reasons for consultation include comprehensive assessment of surgical risk, assessment of hypertension, management of diabetes mellitus and other internal medicine needs.

In addition, patients seen in consultation may be followed by their GIM physician as needed for the duration of their care at M. D. Anderson Cancer.

GIM Inpatient Services

The Inpatient Service was established to provide medical care for selected patients who have been treated by a surgical or radiotherapy physician in the past and who present with a medical illness requiring acute internal medicine services. Medical oncology patients may be appropriate for this inpatient service depending upon the complexity of their medical problems. 

Cancer-Related Fatigue Clinic (CRF)

An integrated team of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurse clinicians provide a comprehensive approach to the management of fatigue. Patients at M. D. Anderson can be referred into the Cancer-Related Fatigue Clinic by their primary physician. Once patients are assessed utilizing various tools to measure the nature and extent of the fatigue burden, a specialized program of care can be offered. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and specialists in psychiatry and acupuncture, as well as self-hypnosis, help provide true multidisciplinary care.

Dealing with Cancer-Related Fatigue

Ambulatory Treatment Center (ATC)

Services Provided: The Ambulatory Treatment Center (ATC) is a multiple-service treatment facility composed of five separate areas: the Bed Unit, Chair Unit, Transfusion Unit, Greenpark Satellite Unit and 10 Rose Unit.

Diseases Treated: The ATC Bed, Chair and Greenpark units treat adult patients with varied diseases. They provide infusions of standard and investigational chemotherapy regimens; blood, platelet, plasma and immunoglobulin transfusions; administration of fluids and electrolyte replacement; injections; transfusions of antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals; and infusion pump connection and disconnection.

The ATC Bed Unit: Is a 25-room treatment area (including four negative-airflow rooms) for patients being treated for longer than four hours. In addition to the above referenced services, regular follow-up care is offered in this area to patients who have undergone ambulatory bone marrow transplantation. Supplementing the regular staff and GIM physicians in this area is the bone marrow transplant team (physicians, advanced practice nurses and pharmacists). There is one room reserved for fast-track inhalation treatments. The Bed Unit operates 24 hours per day Monday through Saturday and 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Sundays.

The ATC Chair Unit: Is a 24-room treatment area for short-term therapy (five minutes to four hours). This unit has two negative-airflow rooms. The unit is characterized by rapid turnover. The Chair Unit operates from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily.

The ATC Transfusion Unit: Is a 24-bed treatment area used primarily to administer blood and blood products. Long-term chemotherapy is also given in this area. The Transfusion Unit is open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The ATC Greenpark Unit: Is an 18-room satellite treatment area located at 7515 South Main, approximately 1.5 miles from the main hospital. Patients primarily receive chemotherapy and injections at Greenpark. It also houses an independent laboratory and a pharmacy. Greenpark operates Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The telephone number is 713-745-1000.

Nephrology

The Section of Nephrology in the Department of General Internal Medicine, AT & EC, provides care to patients with various diseases of the kidneys at M. D. Anderson. In addition to the practice of general nephrology, the physician members of this section have expertise in the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on kidney function, kidney disease from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, renal paraneoplastic syndromes, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and critical care nephrology, particularly continuous renal replacement therapies as slow low-efficiency dialysis. In order to maintain the continuity of care, patients are also seen in the M. D. Anderson Nephrology Clinic following discharge from the hospital.

Rheumatology Consultations

The Section of Rheumatology in the Department of General Internal Medicine, AT & EC, has three in-house rheumatologists providing clinical services for the diagnostic evaluations and interdisciplinary management of various diseases affecting joints and connective tissues, tailored to each patient's individual needs. In addition, physicians in the rheumatology sections have expertise in the diagnosis and therapeutic options for rheumatic manifestations related to malignancies and cancer treatment in cancer patients and survivors. The section provides 24-hour inpatient consultation. Patients are also followed as outpatients in the M. D. Anderson Rheumatology Clinic after their discharge. Outpatient consultation can be requested and scheduled via Consult On-line.

Hospitalist and Moonlighting Program

This program services multiple areas of the hospital providing evaluation of complex medical problems experienced by hospitalized patients after hours.  


© 2009 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center