About the Clinic
The orthopedic oncology team provides cancer care treatment for patients presenting with bone or soft tissue cancers. Patients are usually referred to our team by their family doctor, radiologist, surgeon who suspect that the mass or bony lesion might be malignant. We treat cancers that originate from the bone or soft tissue, which are called Sarcoma, and cancers that have spread from other organs. Sarcomas are relatively rare cancers that require treatment in an expert centre.
A number of diagnostic imaging tests can help to diagnose a bone or soft tissue tumour, such as X-rays, CT, MRI, and bone scans. A biopsy will most often be required to confirm a diagnosis. This involves the surgeon or radiologist removing a small sample of the tumour for analysis.
The clinic offers various treatments for sarcoma, which may include surgical removal of the mass, and radiotherapy or chemotherapy depending on the type of mass, its location, size, and whether or not the cancer has already spread to other places in the body. During this time you may meet different members of the sarcoma team who will be involved in your care.
The orthopedic oncology clinic sees patients at the Cedars Cancer Centre on Mondays and Thursdays. At a patient’s initial visit, the surgeon will review the patient’s history and imaging studies, such as X-ray, MRI or CT scans, and assess whether a biopsy is necessary.
The Team
The Orthopedic oncology team includes:
- Surgeons (Dr. Robert Turcotte and Dr. Krista Goulding)
- Medical oncologist (Dr. Thierry Alcindor)
- Radiation oncologists (Dr. Carolyn Freeman and Dr. Fabio Cury)
- Nurses
- Fellows, residents, and research coordinators
Other services from the hospital may also be involved in your care such as physiotherapy, nutrition, social service, psycho-social, pain service, and palliative care.
Patient referral
Patients are referred to our clinic from a physician, and are subsequently called by the booking coordinators to schedule a visit at the Cedars Cancer Centre of the MUHC at the Glen.