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A research partnership formed just last year by Memorial Healthcare System and Florida Atlantic University is already being recognized for quality care, results, and advances in research, and that’s great news for patients fighting cancer in South Florida. The alliance between Memorial Cancer Institute and FAU (MCIFAU) has been recognized by the state’s Department of Health as a “Florida Cancer Center of Excellence.” 

It becomes just the fifth in the state, out of more than 80 competitors, to earn the designation. The honor recognized the role of research, survivorship, and a multi-disciplinary approach that led to excellence in patient-centered care for persons undergoing cancer treatment and therapy in Florida.

MCIFAU was formed in 2020 to combine the expertise of physicians and researchers under Memorial Cancer Institute, the Office of Human Research at Memorial Healthcare System and FAU’s clinicians and researchers to bring clinical trials that will lead to advances in patient care and treatments for a variety of diseases, including melanoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and blood cancers. On the to-do list are the development of new drugs, medical devices, software applications, and other novel treatments for diseases that affect both children and adults. Memorial Cancer Institute is one of the largest cancer centers in Florida, treating more than 4,300 new cancer patients a year.

“We’re honored to have been named a Cancer Center of Excellence along with our partners at FAU, but the real winners are those who now have access to clinical trials and the combined expertise of our two organizations,” said Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, president and CEO of Memorial Healthcare System. “Innovations that are coming from this alliance are life-changers for patients battling these terrible diseases.”

In addition to excellence in clinical research, the state recognition referenced MCIFAU exceeding service standards and excelling in providing quality, comprehensive and patient-coordinated care.

“We are extremely proud of our designation as a Florida Cancer Center of Excellence by the Florida Department of Health and we greatly appreciate this recognition from Gov. Ron DeSantis,” said FAU President John Kelly. “By combining the vast knowledge, expertise and resources of both of our organizations, the Memorial Cancer Institute/Florida Atlantic University alliance will help to accelerate lifesaving cancer research, clinical trials, patient care, and education in Florida and beyond.”

The Center of Excellence designation was created by the Florida Legislature in 2013 to encourage preeminence in cancer care, to attract and retain the best cancer care providers, and help Florida hospitals, treatment centers, and other providers be recognized nationally as a preferred destination for quality cancer care.

Luis Raez, MD, medical director and chief scientific officer, Memorial Cancer Institute, and Gregg Fields, PhD, executive director, FAU’s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-Health), served as co-principal investigators on the application submitted to the Florida Department of Health.

MCIFAU joins the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Mayo Clinic Florida, and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center as Florida Cancer Centers of Excellence.

After several rounds of chemotherapy that ‘tore him down,’ 51-year-old Eddie Thornton decided to put his fate in God’s hands.

He had just learned the disease had spread from his colon to abdomen and the thought of more toxic treatment was too much to bear. At the minimum, the Pembroke Pines resident reasoned, he’d preserve whatever quality of life he might have left and get off the emotional and physical rollercoaster he’d been riding since the death of his father and cancer diagnosis. It’s a decision he made in the absence of hope.

Shortly thereafter, a recommendation of the Memorial Cancer Institute led to a meeting with Omar Llaguna, MD, a surgical oncologist that is one of the few in South Florida performing a procedure that provides a viable option for patients like Thornton that have peritoneal surface malignancy or cancerous tumors that have spread to the lining of the abdominal cavity.

“During surgery we remove all the visible disease from the abdomen,” said Dr. Llaguna. “We then infuse a heated chemotherapy solution directly into the area for 90 minutes, washing the abdomen and killing any remaining cancer cells.”

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), also known as “hot chemo,” reaches areas that traditional chemotherapy can’t, attacking cancer with a much stronger chemical cocktail than could be tolerated in the veins. It has been especially effective treating gastrointestinal tumors that spread from the colon, ovaries, appendix, and rectum.

For Thornton, being a HIPEC candidate meant there was reason for hope. “I walked out of there feeling like my old self, like there was something better than what I was going through. I believed there were better days coming.”

HIPEC can be a cure for some patients and extends the quality and quantity of life for others, with results depending on the aggressiveness of individual disease process. The Memorial Cancer Institute has treated nearly 20 patients to date with the high-tech, high- touch solution, some of whom, like Thornton, believed they had exhausted all other options.

Thornton spent close to a week at Memorial Regional Hospital following surgery before being discharged to further convalesce at home. Within a week, he was regaining the strength cancer and its treatments had stolen and was walking unassisted for 20 minutes in his backyard. He’ll get bloodwork done moving forward to monitor his condition.

“I’m happy,” said Thornton, a City of Miami Beach employee. “I feel like the surgery was what I needed and I can go back to living the life I had.”

The Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI) is one of the largest cancer centers in Florida, treating more than 4,300 new patients a year. Part of the Memorial Healthcare System, MCI offers diagnosis, integrated treatment, support, clinical trials, and research customized for the patient and his or her family in an environment close to home.

For more information, read more about cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC or call 954-844-9520.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise and vaccines are in short supply, Memorial Healthcare System is offering qualifying COVID-19 patients an alternative that is showing great signs in helping them feel better and avoid hospitalization.

Memorial Hospital Pembroke has provided monoclonal antibody infusions to 270 patients who have high risk factors for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms. Of these high-risk patients, only four patients have needed to be admitted to the hospital post infusion. Memorial Hospital Pembroke set up an outpatient treatment center next to the Emergency Department, where a team of nurses and doctors are infusing qualifying COVID-19 patients either Bamlanivimab, by Eli Lilly, or Casirivimab and Imdevimab, by Regeneron.

“Everything points to a life-saving drug, because the results have been outstanding,” said David Starnes, Chief Nursing Officer, Memorial Hospital Pembroke.

Community members who tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 10 days and meet the criteria outlined below are encouraged to contact their primary care physicians. PCP offices can fax the order (including symptoms and risk factors) along with a copy of the patient’s positive COVID-19 test to Memorial Centralized Scheduling at 954-985-3034.

Appointments are available Monday through Saturday. The outpatient process takes about two hours: one for the infusion; the second for observation by medical professionals.

Adult patients (over age 16) must weigh at least 88.19 lbs., must have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 10 days, have mild to moderate symptoms and one additional criteria, including:

• Body mass index more than or equal to 35
• Chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Immunosuppressive disease OR receiving immunosuppressive treatment
• People over 65
• People over 55 with underlying conditions such as obesity, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and immunodeficiency.