Applauding 100 years of advancing cancer care by the Commission on Cancer

This year, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC), an accrediting body of Memorial Cancer Center, is observing its centennial anniversary. The yearlong campaign will celebrate this important milestone, honor the dedication and leadership of those who have helped to build and shape the CoC, and identify new opportunities to improve the care of cancer patients.

The CoC’s success in improving the quality of cancer care is directly attributed to the contributions and commitment of participating accredited programs dedicated to providing quality cancer care. This includes the program at Memorial Cancer Center, which has been accredited by the CoC since 2011 and is the only nationally accredited program in Southern New Mexico.

“As the only nationally accredited cancer program in the region, you can count on Memorial Cancer Center for a range of high-quality services that are offered close to home, said Cancer Center Director Lynn Fletcher, RN, BSN, MBA, CPPS. “We utilize the latest research and offer access to national clinical trials, which means the personalized and advanced care you need is right here, without having to leave our community.

“And in looking ahead, we are excited to be able to bring even more advanced technology and services to Southern New Mexico in 2022. Chief among those is the arrival of a groundbreaking linear accelerator, a machine that aims radiation at cancer tumors with pinpoint accuracy.”

Established by the ACS in 1922, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations, dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. As a CoC-accredited facility, Memorial Cancer Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that require consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists in a multidisciplinary partnership created to improve patient care. 

“Over the past century, the organizations and individuals represented in the CoC have consistently and tirelessly advanced the quality and standards of cancer care,” said CoC Chair Timothy Mullett, MD, FACS. “As a result, today there are more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico, treating more than 70 percent of patients with cancer in this country.”

By following the CoC’s cancer care standards, Memorial is a leader in the community in setting forth compassionate, personalized care that is coordinated to treat the whole patient. The 100-year anniversary celebrates the CoC’s lasting dedication to quality cancer care. To learn more about the cancer program at Memorial Medical Center, visit: mmclc.org/cancer.