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PDF versionThe Regional Cancer Center offers a host of services for you, your family, and the community.
You can learn about cancer, treatments and find support groups to help you cope. Cancer is a serious illness that is demanding, both emotionally and psychologically. It can also disrupt a family’s finances and create legal issues. We have counselors and programs available to advise and help you.
A number of education, support, and resource services are offered by The Regional Cancer Center and our associates.
Location
The Regional Cancer Center
Faxton Campus
1676 Sunset Avenue
Utica, NY 13502
Oncology Support Services
Our Oncology Support Services can help you learn about cancer and its treatments, and connect you to support groups. The Support Services Coordinator can answer your questions and provide you with articles, brochures and resources. Oncology Support Services is located on the first floor in the Comprehensive Breast Care Center. Our phone number is (315) 624-HOPE (4673).
What support groups are offered?
Man to Man®
As a prostate cancer survivor or caregiver, you may join the American Cancer Society’s “Man to Man” support group, which provides a forum for you to share experiences and provide encouragement for one another.
Program Details
- Man to Man often plans their meetings around a single topic with a speaker and a Q&A session, followed by socializing and sharing of information and experiences.
- Meetings are held at 6pm on the first Thursday of February, April, June, September, and November.
- Call (315) 433-5645 or email jason.warchal@cancer.org for more information.
After Breast Cancer Support Network (ABC)
The After Breast Cancer Support Network, created by women who have had breast cancer, is in its 18th year. The group meets monthly and is dedicated to providing education, information and emotional support to you and those who are confronting the physical and emotional issues of breast cancer. The ABC Support Network is open to the public. It offers education, support, hope, and friendship to women at any stage of cancer.
Program Details
- Monthly meetings are held on a Saturday at 11am at The Regional Cancer Center.
- For more information or to be added to the mailing list, call (315) 624-5764.
Download the current ABC newsletter >
What resources are available to me?
Comprehensive Breast Care Center and Perfect Fit Boutique
Psychosocial Help
Your emotional well-being is important to your cancer treatment, and professional counseling is available to help you cope with your disease.
Dealing with depression and anxiety, problem solving, and learning various coping mechanisms are all part of The Regional Cancer Center’s emphasis on the psychological aspects of cancer treatment. You learn how emotions and personality affect your experience and how to use both to your advantage.
Palliative Care Consultative Services
Palliative Care is specialized health care used to support the needs of people with a serious illness, regardless of diagnosis, prognosis or treatment.
Together with St. Elizabeth Medical Center, The Regional Cancer Center provides an inpatient program that helps you and your family when coping with advanced illness. By working closely with your primary physician, palliative care provides symptom management while treating the whole person with high-quality, personalized care.
Finances
We offer counseling to you by evaluating your finances and advising you about insurance and payment assistance programs. Contact our financial advisor at (315) 624-5320.
Financial assistance for uncompensated care is also available. We use federal poverty guidelines to determine eligibility, so an appointment with our financial advisor is necessary to complete an application. Call (315) 624-5216 to schedule an appointment.
We can answer your billing questions at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare’s business office. Call (315) 624-5170.
Our financial counselors are here to discuss payment options, accept co-pays, and take checks from out-of-network providers. We also obtain authorization for radiation patients. Our phone number is (315) 624-5320 Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 3:30pm.
Look Good…Feel Better®
Trained, volunteer cosmetologists teach you how to cope with skin changes and hair loss in this free, non-medical, product-neutral program. Look Good…Feel Better is offered in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, and the National Cosmetology Association. Sessions are held at The Regional Cancer Center the second Monday of each month at noon. For more information, or to make a reservation, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-395-5665.
The Look Good…Feel Better program also provides wigs. The donated wigs are free. The cosmetologist will assist you with your fitting at any monthly session of the Look Good…Feel Better program. Between sessions, our Support Services Program located in the Perfect Fit Boutique at the Faxton Campus can provide free wigs.
Nutrition
Good nutrition decreases the severity of side effects when you are undergoing cancer treatment. Our dietitians help you establish a diet that keeps you as strong as possible during your treatments. For more information, call Nutrition Services at (315) 624-5208.
Spiritual Care
Hope in the face of an uncertain future can raise your morale when you need it most. Our Pastoral Care offices are located at both campuses. You may call (315) 624-5545 at the Faxton Campus or (315) 624-6110 at the St. Luke’s Campus.
Consumer and Allied Health Library
We want you to find out all you can about your diagnosis. Our library provides comprehensive, up-to-date information through its books, video and audio tapes, and internet access. Feel free to contact our medical librarian to assist you in their research. For more information, please call (315) 624-6059.
Interpreters
The Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare Language Assistance Program is here for you or your family member if you are not proficient in English. If you are designated as having Limited English Proficiency (LEP), you qualify for the program. It includes help with approximately 30 languages.
Sign Language
The program is available to all clinics and facilities served by Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare. For more information or assistance, call the Program Coordinator at (315) 624-5242.
Oneida County Cancer Services Partnership
The Cancer Services Program Partnership of Oneida, Herkimer and Madison Counties offers the following FREE cancer screenings:
- Clinical Breast Exams
- Mammograms
- Cervical (PAP Smear)
- Colorectal
These screenings are offered to you if you meet certain eligibility criteria. If cancer is diagnosed, thanks to the Medicaid Treatment Act, insurance coverage is available for the uninsured so that prompt treatment can begin. For more information call (315) 798-5248.
What community resources are out there?
Genetic Counseling
A cancer risk assessment with a genetic counselor helps you understand your chance of developing cancer. If counselors suspect an inherited cancer predisposition, they may suggest genetic testing. In addition, you can adopt cancer risk reduction and surveillance strategies based on the inherited predisposition. To learn more, please visit Mohawk Valley Gene.
To make an appointment with Mohawk Valley Genetic Services call the Ferre Institute at (315) 724-4348 or toll free at 1-888-483-3773. They are located at 4 Oxford Crossing, New Hartford, NY 13413.
American Cancer Society (ACS)
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem through research, education, advocacy, and service. ACS offices in Utica and Syracuse can help you in your fight against cancer. For more information, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.
Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc.
Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc. provides quality, compassionate care to those facing a terminal illness. The Siegenthaler Center, located at the Hospice and Palliative Care facility, is a residence for terminally ill patients and their families whose medical conditions or caregiving needs do not allow them to remain in their homes.
Hospice is located at 4277 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford, NY, 13413. For information please contact them at (315) 735-6484.
The Abraham House
A safe haven for the terminally ill who, without it, would die alone or in an unsafe environment. Donations from the community support The Abraham House and it is staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
Located at 1203 Kemble Street, Utica, NY 13501, The Abraham House can be reached at (315) 733-8210 for more information.
Legal Aid
When you or you family member is living with cancer it is easy to overlook the legal matters that can greatly affect you. You may need to address such issues as providing for their children or negotiating payment plans for medical bills.
Legal Services of Central New York, Inc. (LSCNY) and Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society (HLAS) formed the CLASP Project (Cancer Legal Advocacy and Services Project) to provide legal and supportive services to cancer patients who may not be able to afford them. Call LSCNY at (315) 703-6500.
Websites
If you use the internet to find health-related information, it’s wise to use reliable sites. We recommend the following trusted Web sites:
