About

As a Nationally Accredited Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer, our Cancer Institute provides the highest quality of care and ongoing commitment to continuous quality improvement. All accredited cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years to maintain accreditation.

The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) is a joint program of the ACoS and the American Cancer Society (ACS). NCDB collects oncology outcomes data from more than 1,500 Commission-accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Approximately 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of cancer in the U.S. are tracked at the local level and reported to the NCDB. Since 1989, NCDB contains approximately 29 million records from hospital cancer registries nationwide.

The Cancer Institute's Commitment to Quality

If you are considering cancer care at Doylestown Health, you have a commitment from our entire health system staff and leadership that you will receive state-of-the-art, comprehensive, coordinated and personalized care. Our cancer care team constantly strives for the highest quality of care and excellent outcomes, as illustrated by the following:

• Doylestown Health's Cancer Committee is a multidisciplinary team of specialists responsible for setting goals, planning, initiating, implementing, evaluating and improving all cancer-related activities at the hospital for the highest quality of care. The Cancer Committee evaluates the outcomes of patients treated at Doylestown Health to measure quality and enhance patient care. NCDB serves as the Cancer Committee’s benchmark to evaluate trends unique to the Doylestown region and make ongoing improvements.
• The Breast Program Leadership (BPL), a multidisciplinary leadership committee and subcommittee of the Cancer Committee, meets quarterly to ensure that our breast program meets quality standards and performance measures.
• Cancer Conferences and Tumor Boards meet four times per month in a multidisciplinary forum with representatives from medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, radiology and pathology. At these information-sharing meetings, medical staff and cancer specialists review newly diagnosed cancer cases and collaborate on personalized treatment recommendations to ensure the best possible outcome for each patient. These forums also review National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines, prognostic indicators and site-specific factors, and discuss rare tumor types for educational purposes and multidisciplinary input.
• Continuing Medical and Professional Education. Doylestown Health physicians, nurses and allied health professionals attend educational programs regularly. Our staff is devoted to being at the forefront of best practices, new technology and advancements in treating cancer. Some examples of recent topics and presentations include:
  • Acute Pain Management
  • Adherence to Oral Therapies in Oncology
  • Advances in Neuro-oncology
  • Chemotherapy in Early Stage Breast Cancer
  • Colon Cancer Update
  • Emotional Issues of Cancer
  • In-depth Look at Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)
  • Managing Life Threatening Infections in Patients with Cancer
  • Managing Patients with Brain Metastases
  • Protocols for Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment

In addition to our yearly preventive screenings that we perform for our patients in the community, in 2019, we held two special screening programs specifically for the uninsured and underinsured population.

The following highlights these two programs:

2019 Skin Screening Results:

• Free full body skin screenings were held on May 7, 2019 and May 23, 2019 at our Cancer Institute with two local dermatologists and one nurse practitioner providing the evaluations. Twenty uninsured and underinsured community members were assessed.
• Follow-up was recommended for 17 patients with findings including Actinic Keratosis, Congenital Nevus, Dysplastic Nevus and Seborrheic Keratosis. All patients received either a certified letter or phone call from Cancer Institute social worker offering assistance with securing on going medical care. Contact made with ten patients confirming they had seen a provider for follow-up.
• Two patients with suspected cancers were seen in follow-up by local dermatologists. One patient without insurance and unable to afford appointment was seen for free.
• Confirmed with all uninsured patients that they had access to a free clinic or their own primary care physician. Two referrals were made to local free/low cost clinics.

2020 Breast Screening Results:

• A free breast screening event was held at our Women's Diagnostic Center on November 7, 2020.
• Fifteen uninsured or underinsured women received breast exams by a board-certified breast surgeon and then a 3D screening mammogram.
• All patients met with our Cancer Institute social worker to assist with linking them to medical care.
• Five women were recommended for additional diagnostic testing.
  • One was referred to the Ann Silverman Clinic.
  • One was referred to the Hunterdon Medical Center for an ultrasound through their CEED program.
  • Two were referred to Abington/Jefferson for ultrasounds through the BCCEDP program.
  • One uninsured patient was recommended to see a University-based plastic surgeon for a complicated issue. Our Cancer Institute social worker helped her obtain insurance through Medical Assistance for Worker’s with Disabilities and secured her a consult with a plastic surgeon at Penn.

Recent data and quality indicators that demonstrate our health system’s growing cancer services and exceptional screening, diagnostic and treatment capabilities include:

• In 2016, more patients at our Cancer Institute, a comprehensive community cancer program, were diagnosed at an early stage (Stage 0 through 2) for colon (73%) as compared with NCDB (50%).
• The increasing number of cancer cases evaluated by our Doylestown Health Cancer Registry Team between 2012 through 2017 reflect a continued growth of cancer services offered at our facility. Our Cancer Registry collects data on all types and stages of cancer and treatment results, as well as offers lifelong patient follow-up.
• Doylestown Health breast and rectal cancer quality measures consistently excel beyond the benchmarks set by the National Quality Forum (NQF). These benchmarks include specific parameters for surgery, chemotherapy, and related therapies.

For more information on Doylestown Health's Cancer Institute's commitment to quality, please visit:

• Community Health Needs Assessment Implementation Plan