Putting Colorectal Cancer Care on the Fast Track
With early-onset colorectal cancer cases rising nationally, Renown Health is taking steps to accelerate diagnosis and treatment.
COLORECTAL CANCER RATES among adults younger than 50 have been increasing rapidly, underscoring the need for local, timely and specialized care. Renown Health, with support from generous donors such as the William N.
Michael Thomas, MD Pennington Foundation, is investing in the infrastructure necessary to deliver toplevel colorectal cancer care in northern Nevada. That effort starts with building a team of experts.
In November 2024, longtime Reno general and colorectal surgeons Matthew Crapko, MD, and Michael Thomas, MD, PhD, joined Renown Surgery Care. Anathea Powell, MD, formerly with the Dignity Health Cancer Institute in Phoenix joined in May and a fourth fellowship-trained general and colorectal surgeon will join the practice later this year.
“ Renown Health made an important commitment to build a colorectal division to expedite patient referrals,” said Dr. Thomas, who is director of the Rectal Cancer Center within the Pennington Cancer Institute and division chair of Colorectal Surgery at Renown Health.“ If an abnormality is found on a patient’ s colonoscopy, a member of our team will contact them and schedule them urgently so they can have a consultation and begin diagnosis and treatment. We’ re working closely with community physicians to speed up the process of seeing these patients.”
Interdisciplinary Care and Advanced Technology In addition to bringing colorectal surgeons to northern
Nevada, Renown Health has put other key components of a colorectal cancer program in place, including:
• Specialized diagnostic imaging. Renown Health was the first in the region to obtain the MRI capabilities necessary to accurately diagnose colorectal cancer, according to Dr. Thomas. A skilled team of radiologists interprets these specialized studies.
• An interdisciplinary tumor board. The only group of its kind in the region brings together pathologists, radiologists, oncologists and surgeons to form a treatment plan for every patient with colon or rectal cancer.
• Robotic surgery systems. Surgeons use the da Vinci 5 and da Vinci SP( single-port) platforms to perform colon resections. Using the da Vinci SP, surgeons can treat certain colorectal cancers using a transanal approach, without incisions.
Pursuit of Excellence With so many key program pieces in place, Renown Health is pursuing designation from the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. The health system will host a site visit from the accreditation team this fall.
“ We had a number of important elements of rectal cancer care working independently for years, but pursuing this accreditation is a huge step forward in trying to coordinate that care,” Dr. Thomas says.“ We want every patient with a new diagnosis of rectal cancer to receive the highest level of care available anywhere in the country right here at Renown.”
To refer a patient to Renown Surgery Care, call 775-982-6270.
1,480
new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in Nevada
90 % survival rate at five years
When detected early, colorectal cancer is highly treatable.
Matthew Crapko, MD, and Anathea Powell, MD VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 | Renown Health | 7