Saint Luke's Cancer Institute

Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, a department of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, today announced the formation of a new Comprehensive Cancer Program on the campus of Saint Luke's North Hospital. The expansion of Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute will provide the growing Northland community with access to advanced, personalized cancer treatments close to home. “With the Northland’s significant growth over the past decade, the community has a need for easily accessible, comprehensive cancer care.” said Darren Bass, Chief Executive Officer of Saint Luke’s North Region. “With all services provided on one campus, patients will benefit from the full range of Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute’s services and experts without having to travel to multiple locations.” Expected to open in Spring 2025, the Comprehensive Cancer Program will include radiation therapy services and expanded medical oncology and infusion services in the Barry Medical Park Office Building adjacent to the main hospital.

Dr. Furha Cossor, a hematologist oncologist at Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, knows exactly what her patients are going through because she used to be one of them. Her cancer journey is the entire reason she became an oncologist. Dr. Cossor was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 19 when she was a sophomore in college. She went through chemotherapy for six months while continuing school. “I think staying in school was probably the best decision I ever made. It allowed me to think about other things and not just about being a cancer patient," said Dr. Cossor. "Me and my bald head went to class and kept up. I made it through the semester, and then the following summer I had to do some radiation therapy. After that, I did well. I got very, very lucky.” Dr. Cossor originally intended to go to medical school to study psychiatry, but surviving Hodgkin’s lymphoma inspired her to pursue oncology instead. This past year, Dr. Cossor was approached by Hannah Green, a Saint Luke’s clinical research coordinator and blood cancer survivor who is actively involved with the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Hannah asked her to be a candidate for Visionary of the Year— a philanthropic competition for dedicated individuals affected by blood cancer to educate and raise funds for LLS —to which Dr. Cossor agreed. “I just feel like this is such a worthy organization; I wanted to take this opportunity to make an impact,” she said. “Some patients need that extra love. They need someone who has been through this to say they can do this, it’s not impossible, and there is life on the other end of treatment.” See her story from KSHB 41: https://bit.ly/3UVIE99

Dr. Dhruv Bansal, director of precision and thoracic oncology at Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, recently traveled to Chicago, Singapore, and Spain to present six studies he conducted concerning immunotherapy for cancer treatment. Immunotherapy boosts the immune system to find and attack cancer cells. Dr. Bansal's research seeks to identify subsets of patients who would benefit from the treatment rather than a one-size-fits all approach. Each clinical trial demonstrates new ways to improve immunotherapy success rates. Dr. Bansal's research emphasizes that understanding the tumor, its surrounding tissue, and the cancer's genomic profile can help guide treatment decisions. "The next decade will lead to further advances in immunology and molecularly targeted therapies," Dr. Bansal said. "I believe these advances will lead to the cure of cancer in my lifetime, and I plan to do my part by performing this research." #TeamSaintLukes ??