Allegheny Health Network: Bringing innovative and expert care to your community
Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute
Brings Expert Cancer Care to Your Community
A cancer diagnosis creates fear, confusion, and
relentless questions: Will I survive? Where
do I go for the best treatment? Will I run
out of money?
The good news is more
people than ever — about
70% — survive cancer.
Unfortunately, the
demands and
financial costs of
cancer treatment
generate more
stress, which can
impact health, and even
cause cancer to progress six
times faster.
Best-in-class Treatment
Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cancer
Institute offers a new and more integrated
way to treat cancer. Our care begins with one
radical idea: The patient comes first. At AHN
Cancer Institute, we treat the whole person — not
just the disease — by meeting the medical, financial,
social, and cultural needs of the individual.
With each patient, our multidisciplinary teams of oncology
experts and care professionals develop plans that optimize
proven treatments, leading to the best possible outcomes.
This approach reduces unnecessary tests or ineffective,
possibly toxic, treatments.
Our team usually meets with the patient within three days
of the initial diagnosis. We deliver this expert care right
in the local community, because a hospital setting is not
needed most of the time — even for complex care.
At community-based centers, patients gain:
• More time with family or at work.
• Greater comfort and safety.
• Less stress and strain on compromised immune systems.
Community-based care is more convenient and less costly.
It also achieves better outcomes when expertly delivered,
evidence-based treatments happen close to home.
For patients needing sophisticated procedures in a
hospital setting, AHN has leading cancer experts, top-
quality hospitals, and specialty-based academic
centers at Allegheny General Hospital and West
Penn Hospital. Five AHN hospitals rank in
top 25–30% of all hospitals nationally for
Medical Excellence in Cancer Care.*
Rare or Complex Cancers
AHN works with the Sidney
Kimmel Comprehensive
Cancer Center at Johns
Hopkins, which provides
additional benefits to our
patients with rare or complex
cancers. Johns Hopkins experts are
available for second opinions, if needed.
The collaboration broadens our education and
research opportunities and connects patients to
more clinical trials. Johns Hopkins looks to AHN and
Highmark to help advance its own community-based
care model, research, and education.
Empowering Patients
Patients who understand what to expect are better prepared
to take part in their own care. They deserve providers who
take time to answer their questions as often as needed.
Typically, cancer patients meet with at least 13 doctors
during treatment. We coordinate care so that everyone is
working for the best possible outcome.
We added Patient Navigators who work one-on-one with
patients — either in person or by phone or email. They
simplify the health care system by scheduling appointments
and discussing treatment options. They offer support and
encouragement, guiding the patient through every stage of
their treatment.
We bring leading expertise in cancer care back to the
community, preserving our patients’ time, energy, and
money so they can focus on what’s most important —
getting well.
*Source: Quantros, Inc.; CareChex® 2017 National Quality
Rating Database: FFY 2013, 2014 and 2015