What is a multidisciplinary clinic?
As treatments for pancreatic and biliary cancer evolve, fewer patients undergo single-modality therapy. Instead, more and more patients are being treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy that involves the expert opinions of specialists in those treatments.
This “multidisciplinary approach,” a long-established protocol here at University of Colorado Hospital in metro Denver, provides patients with the most current, effective, and evidence-based treatments in a single-day appointment, as well as the opportunity to meet with the specialists who collaborate in his or her care. These specialists might include:
- Surgeons
- Medical oncologists
- Radiation oncologists
- Gastroenterologists
- Anesthesiologists (for pain management)
- Pathologists
- Radiologists
- Dieticians
- Social workers
- Research coordinators
Learn the advantages of a multidisciplinary clinic
We offer advanced diagnostic and interventional endoscopic treatments, traditional and laparoscopic Whipple and Distal procedures, as well as chemotherapy & radiotherapy regimens.
Once you are referred to our clinic, specialists review your laboratory and radiologic tests – and order new tests, if indicated. After you provide a thorough history and get a physical examination, your case is presented to the multidisciplinary team, who design an individualized plan of care that they discuss with you.
A pancreatic cancer patient's story
“We knew we were in the right place.”
An MRI revealed the source of Dr. Wayne Munson’s “abdominal discomfort” – a pancreatic tumor. He and his family knew such a diagnosis required a specialist’s attention. As Wayne’s wife Barbara recounts: “What comfort it was, meeting the team and Dr. Schulick and in very short order we knew we were in the right place.”