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Cancer Care Dearborn County Hospital offers a wide range of cancer detection and treatment options. Services range from early cancer detection screenings including mammograms and those for lung cancer to therapeutic procedures such as brachytherapy (seeding) for prostate cancer. The ongoing acquisition of new diagnostic equipment has significantly expanded Dearborn County Hospital's cancer detection capabilities and related oncology services. In recent years, DCH was one of the first hospitals in a multistate region to acquire the Hawkeye PET/CT Imaging System which melds two modalities into a single tool. This new technology assists in both the detection and mapping of cancerous tumors. Located adjacent to the hospital in the DCH Professional Building is an office of Oncology/Hematology Care, Inc., one of the nation's largest private oncology practices. There, Radiation Oncologists and Medical Oncologist/Hematologists provide therapeutic care for cancer patients through the use of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. A 20 second, low-dose helical CT scan can help detect lung cancer before it is visible on a standard X-ray and usually before there are noticeable symptoms. The screening requires a physician’s order and is recommended for smokers and former smokers with a history of 10 pack-years or greater. Ten pack-years translates to someone who has smoked one-half pack a day for 20 years, one pack a day for 10 years, two packs a day for five years and so forth. As a noninvasive procedure, the CT screening requires no advance preparation. Realizing that the treatment of cancer is far more complex than the utilization of technology, DCH assists in the provision of support programs to assist patients and their families deal with the psycho/social aspects of the disease. Currently the hospital offers support services through the Breast Cancer Support Group.
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