Cutting-edge TAMC Cancer Care Center sets high standard in northern Maine

    Consider this: When cancer care began in Aroostook County in the 1940s the cost of office visits was $1. Today, cancer care is much more sophisticated with a dedicated TAMC Cancer Center, specialists, cutting-edge technology, and new research leading the way.
    “When I first started, we couldn’t do any oncology therapy as an outpatient; all chemo was inpatient,” recollects Ronald Rohe, MD, TAMC’s longtime director of Hematology and Oncology. “So every Monday morning, I would admit five to 10 patients so I could give their chemo to them, and after a few days, they would go home. Then everything changed almost overnight. Therapy was allowed to be given as an outpatient service.”
Thanks to the expertise of Dr. Rohe, TAMC has developed a reputation as a go-to hospital in the area for cancer treatment. “Dr. Rohe has developed excellent relationships with physicians throughout Maine as well as those at the major New England cancer centers, i.e., Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Mass General, etc.,” said Nancy Cronkite, a longtime Aroostook Cancer Care staff member.
“We can conduct research in the latest journals and medical textbooks without waiting. If I need to access a patient’s medical information while I’m in conference with them, I can bring it up on the screen and discuss it with them.”
– Ronald Rohe, MD
TAMC’s director
Hematology/Oncology
    Long before Dr. Rohe entered the scene, The Aroostook Medical Center began providing care for cancer patients. The first tumor clinic in Aroostook County opened at Presque Isle General Hospital on March 13, 1947.
    In 1978, in response to demand for oncology services, Dr. Rohe joined the staff as part of an outpatient program with Dana-Farber to serve patients in rural areas. He stayed on at the hospital after the program ended. In addition to serving patients in Presque Isle, he traveled all over Aroostook County to provide care, saving his patients from having to drive long distances. He also continued to work with his former co-workers at Dana-Farber consulting on diagnoses and treatment. Thanks to his strong relationships, patients from northern Maine who are initially seen at Dana-Farber are referred back to him for future treatment.
    Over the decades, the approach to cancer has changed dramatically, he notes. “The changes we are seeing now are patients are beginning to receive less of a smorgasbord of chemotherapy even though that can work well in many cases,” says Dr. Rohe. “Now we are working toward having a patient’s cancer cells examined and tested to find out what drug or drugs are appropriate for that particular cancer. Currently, labs can give us a genetic makeup of the tumor, which tells us what enzymes work well against it. This technology is very exciting and progressing very quickly.”
    Another welcome innovation in cancer treatment is the pivotal advances in electronic technology. “Now, we can get results from Dana-Farber and other organization almost instantly,” Dr. Rohe says. “We can conduct research in the latest journals and medical textbooks without waiting. If I need to access a patient’s medical information while I’m in conference with them, I can bring it up on the screen and discuss it with them.”
    A major development in cancer care at TAMC in recent years is the new state-of-the-art 4,500-square-foot Cancer Center. This occurred in 2008, when TAMC realized it had outgrown its 2,300-square-foot oncology clinic and exceeded the capabilities of the staff to keep up with steadily increasing volumes.
    Another welcome development is the integration of radiation oncology. John Mullen, MD, is TAMC’s full-time radiation oncologist. Dr. Mullen represents one of the most important aspects of the Cancer Center – the expert clinicians. Besides Drs. Rohe and Mullen, Gibson “Kip” Crawford, PA-C, Vatsala Kirtani, MD, and Arjun Sood, MD, make up the practice. These providers and a dedicated staff work closely with primary care practitioners and other medical professionals to make sure that patients are getting the most effective treatment available right here in Aroostook County.
    “An excellent example of the collaborative cancer care that TAMC provides to its patients is our Tumor Board,” said Dr. Mullen. “The Tumor Board is a place for multi-disciplinary treatment. Our surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, physical and occupational therapists all meet weekly to discuss diagnosis and treatment of all patients. This gets all staff on the same page in regards to caring for our patients which has been shown to lead to better outcomes.”
    It is treatment that only gets better with time.
    Learn more about TAMC’s leading cancer care at (207) 768-4151 or tamc.org.