It’s an announcement a year-and-a-half in the making and it’s being touted as a quantum leap in cancer care. World-renowned cancer leader MD Anderson of Houston is teaming up with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center.
"This is still San Antonio’s cancer center," commented UT Health Science Center President William Henrich, MD. "It is not Houston’s cancer center or a Western branch of it. But now this partnership enables us to build a deeper bench, to offer more programs, and to carry out our mission more effectively."
Right now, about 1200 San Antonio area cancer patients head to Houston for their treatment. The idea behind this collaboration is to keep many of them at home for the same level of care. UT System Chancellor William McRaven is a big advocate of collaboration.
"You’re going to benefit the people of Texas if you come together in a collaborative way that really takes the best of both worlds, puts them together, and you can’t help but be better as a result of that," McRaven said.
The President of M-D Anderson, Ronald DePinho, MD, said patients will benefit from innovative care and treatment options.
"Cancer is the most complicated disease to diagnose and to treat," DePinho emphasized. "And so when you join forces it always end up being much better for the patients."
Beginning in mid 2017, the UT Health San Antonio M-D Anderson Cancer Center will serve adult patients in the renovated CTRC.
