You’re ready to feel like yourself again. We’re ready to get you there, using a combination of advanced therapies and personalized care. With a team of nationally recognized hepatobiliary experts working just for you, you’ll have a clear path toward overcoming pancreatic and liver cancers.
Our renowned pancreatic and liver surgical oncology team provides excellence in the clinical care of patients with pancreatic, liver and biliary tumors. More pancreatic cancer patients trust their care to us than any other health care organization in Florida.
Our expert team treats the entire scope of pancreatic and liver tumors with an individualized, whole-health approach. Care plans are tailored to suit each patient's specific needs, ensuring you feel whole during and after treatment.
Cancer affects more than your body. That’s why we have a team of physicians, nurse navigators, administrative staff, nutritionists, psychologists, social workers and more who dedicate themselves to improving your emotional and spiritual well-being — and treat the whole you.
From surgery to chemotherapy and revolutionary technology, your options range far and wide. Our comprehensive clinical team, including specialized surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists, is ready to serve patients with pancreatic and liver neoplasms.
Nothing matters more to us than getting you well, and getting you home. Depending on what type of gastrointestinal cancer you have and the level of advancement, chemotherapy may play an essential role in successfully treating your cancer, including colon cancer, rectal cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer. From the moment you arrive for your chemo treatment, one of our nurses will be there to greet you and guide you.
Using a combination of specialized drugs, chemotherapy has the power to destroy or slow down the growth of fast-growing cancer cells, wherever they are. More often than not for gastrointestinal cancer, chemo is administered intravenously, but it can also be delivered by injection or orally. At AdventHealth Cancer Institute, our oncology experts take an individualized approach to your chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy can be used three different ways to help treat gastrointestinal cancer:
Neoadjuvant treatment, during which chemo is administered before surgery to shrink the tumor, making it easier to remove and helping prevent the cancer cells from coming back.
Adjuvant treatment, during which chemo is administered after surgery to help remove any cancer that may be left. Often, you may receive a combination of chemo and radiation therapy after surgery, called chemoradiation.
Chemotherapy can also be used as your primary treatment option if surgery and/or radiation therapy aren’t the right course of treatment for you.
Depending on your type of cancer, we’ll determine which treatment(s) is best for you.
If surgery is part of your treatment plan, rest assured that your health is in the hands of specialized oncology surgeons. As a recognized leader in cancer care, we’re helping patients heal through innovative surgical care day in and day out. Your dedicated team of cancer specialists will review every detail of your medical history and recent tests to recommend the most effective treatment plan for you. Surgery may be the only treatment you need, or, more commonly, it’s used in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.
Our surgeons place a strong emphasis on treating tumors, both benign and malignant, with minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic techniques to optimize your outcome. Our patient-centered philosophy expands beyond clinical care excellence to include the emotional, nutritional and social well-being of you and your family. We take a multidisciplinary approach to care and provide you with access to a full range of leading-edge cancer treatments.
We treat a broad range of pancreatic, liver and hepatobiliary tumors with the most minimally invasive procedures possible. Whatever procedure is part of your treatment plan, our team is here to guide you from pre-op to post-op and beyond.
We are the first and only health care system in Florida offering a new, FDA-approved, non-invasive procedure to treat tumors in the liver: histotripsy.
What is Histotripsy?
Histotripsy uses high-intensity sound waves to destroy tumors in the liver. This procedure is non-invasive, which means it does not require incisions, needles, or anything else to be inserted through the skin to treat the targeted liver tumors. A treatment head (the source that sends out the sound waves) is placed inside a soft, flexible membrane containing specially treated water that sits on your abdomen and is directed at the liver tumors. Your doctor will use diagnostic ultrasound to see and target the liver tumor they want to destroy. The sound wave energy is then turned on and focused to a singular point, creating a “bubble cloud” that destroys only the tissue your doctor has targeted.
Histotripsy is performed by an oncology surgeon with a subspecialty in hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery. If you’re a candidate for this type of non-invasive treatment, it can lead to a faster recovery with less pain and no scarring.
To learn more, please call our GI Cancer Nurse Navigator at 407-303-5981.
While radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for pancreatic and liver cancers, at AdventHealth Cancer Institute, we do it with exceptional expertise, guidance and compassion. Using sophisticated radiation technology, we can target tumors including rectal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer with amazing precision, easing your pain and leaving healthy tissue untouched. Depending on your diagnosis, your dedicated team may recommend radiation alone, but in many cases, we combine it with surgery, chemotherapy, and sometimes other treatment options.
Our oncology experts take an individualized approach to every patient’s treatment plan. Radiation therapy targets specific areas of the body, shrinking tumors and killing cancer cells by damaging their DNA.
When treating digestive tract cancer, radiation therapy is usually delivered one of three ways:
External radiation, which delivers radiation in a concentrated beam to keep nearby healthy tissue unaffected, often using imaging to guide the treatment.
Internal radiation delivers concentrated doses of radiation guided by ultrasound, keeping healthy nearby tissue safer.
Systemic radiation is a treatment that is swallowed or injected and then travels through your bloodstream to target and shrink cancer cells.
Throughout your treatment, your nurses and your radiology care team are there to keep you and your support system informed, comfortable, and uplifted.
Hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) allows medication to be delivered directly to the liver from inside the body. Learn more about how this innovative technology could support your cancer treatment.
An implantable pump is a small drug delivery system meant to be implanted during surgery, specifically for colorectal cancer patients whose cancer has metastasized to the liver. The pump holds medication that is continuously released while you are going about your daily activities. AdventHealth is one of just two hospitals currently offering this treatment.
The surgical procedure to implant the pump is usually performed under general anesthesia and normally takes two to three hours. If needed, any additional surgery may be performed at this time. If this is the case, your surgery may take longer. Your doctor or nurse will provide you with instructions for care of the implant site. Once the incision has healed, the site will no longer require any special care. As you recover from the surgery, you will be able to return to most of the activities you enjoyed before the surgery. However, you will be given some guidelines to follow.
The inside of the pump is divided into inner and outer chambers. The inner chamber contains medication to be infused. The outer chamber contains a propellant permanently sealed inside. The temperature of your body warms the propellant that exerts constant pressure on the bellows causing the medication to flow out of the inner chamber, through a filter and flow restrictor, and then slowly out the catheter. Refilling the pump with medication expands the bellows and starts the pump on the next cycle of drug infusion. The pump may be refilled as many times as is necessary for your therapy.
Getting back to feeling whole and healthy means making room in your life for plenty of guidance, love and support from your family, your friends, and from us. We’re here to advise and educate you, with personalized recovery programs geared toward boosting your health and wellness. We’re here to remind you that exercise plays a key role in reducing your risk of recurrence, and that strength training can help reduce your risk of fracture. But most of all, we’re here to reassure you that you’re never alone in this journey.
You’re ready to give it your all — and we’re ready for you. Across seven Central Florida locations, our leading oncology specialists combine both proven therapies and emerging innovations to achieve patient outcomes that consistently exceed the national average.
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You'll feel even stronger when you're surrounded by a loving support system. From our pampering patient spa, which provides relaxation services and wig fittings, to financial assistance tools, we’re here with the practical, emotional, and spiritual guidance you need.
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Our cancer specialists and researchers are continuously discovering new ways to prevent and treat cancer. We participate in more than 175 national clinical trials a year to give you access to many of the latest treatments and prevention methods, many of which may not be available at other cancer centers for months, or years, to come.
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It's always a good idea to get a second opinion. Our second-opinion experts can help you feel more confident in your care, either by confirming your diagnosis, shedding new light, or opening the door to new treatment options.
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Our cancer patients often find comfort and hope where they least expect it: in the company of peers who end up becoming so much more. Connect with patients, survivors and a compassionate support group staff who truly understand what you’re going through.
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