Texas Oncology broke ground June 15 on a new 32,000-square-foot cancer care center that will enhance the level of cancer care available to patients in Southeast Texas. Located on the CHRISTUS Southeast Texas St. Elizabeth hospital campus, the new comprehensive cancer center will provide medical oncology, radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, chemotherapy, genetic counseling and lab services, as well as provide clinical trials. Radiation services will be provided in collaboration with CHRISTUS Southeast Texas St. Elizabeth.

A cancer diagnosis is not necessarily the death sentence it once was–yet there’s no denying that the personal and professional challenges can be immense. Medical professionals Debra Patt, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, executive vice president, public policy, payer relations, and strategic initiatives, Texas Oncology, Julie Sprunt, M.D., FACS, Texas Breast Specialists–Austin and Bastrop, Michael Teneriello, M.D., FACOG, Texas Oncology–Austin Central and South Austin, and Ryan Tierney, M.D., Texas Oncology–South Austin joined the Austin Business Journal to discuss the Cancer Moonshot Initiative and share about their work to reach a singular goal: to deliver care to cancer patients so they can live their lives on their own terms. The resulting article relays how the four physicians perceive the future of innovation and access to quality cancer care for patients, as well as what Texas Oncology is doing to deliver high-quality, innovative care in a community setting as an example of how Austin physicians can become involved with national initiative.