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COV ER FE AT UR E L UNG CANCER REMAINS the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with a five-year survivorship of less than 16 percent, according to the American Lung Association. The New York Department of Health reports nearly 14,000 lung cancer diagnoses and approximately 9,000 mortalities from the disease each year, making the condition an urgent local concern. Health Quest's Vassar Brothers Medical Center — an American College of Surgeons Committee on Cancer- accredited Comprehensive Community Cancer Center — has demonstrated its commitment to meeting this community healthcare need with the establishment of its Division of Thoracic Oncology. From screening and advanced imaging diagnostics to the latest robotic- and video-assisted surgical treatments and rehabilitation, this multifaceted program combines compo- nents of survivorship, support and education to render the highest caliber of cancer care. "Health Quest has a long history of providing excellent cancer care for the community, both in the hospital and in outpatient areas, with skilled clinicians working together collaboratively," says Cliff P. Connery, MD, FACS, Medical Director for the Dyson Center for Cancer Care at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Medical Director for Health Quest Medical Practice's Division of Thoracic Oncology. "We are committed to providing the best possible cancer care by enhancing screening, developing screening protocols for lung cancer in particular, and working effectively together to develop a multidis- ciplinary team." Providing the full care spectrum of thoracic oncology — cancers and diseases of the lung, esophagus, chest wall, lymph nodes, diaphragm and pericardium — Health Quest is changing outcomes for the better for patients from the Hudson Valley and beyond. "We've seen patients migrate from New York City to Vassar Brothers as opposed to traveling out of this region for their care," says Dimitrios Papadopoulos, MD, Medical Director for Health Quest Oncology. "It's a By Carrie Frye Health Quest's Cliff P. Connery, MD, FACS, Brings Advances in Thoracic Oncology to the Hudson Valley EXPERT CLINICIANS AND THE LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL TREATMENT ADVANCES MAKE HEALTH QUEST'S DIVISION OF THORACIC ONCOLOGY AT VASSAR BROTHERS MEDICAL CENTER A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY CARE PROGRAM DESIGNED TO CREATE BETTER OUTCOMES FOR LUNG CANCER PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. Cliff P. Connery, MD, FACS, Medical Director for the Dyson Center for Cancer Care at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Medical Director for Health Quest Medical Practice's Division of Thoracic Oncology, works at the da Vinci robotic console. 6 | Mid Hudson MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M