How Ohio State improves the cancer diagnosis process

Fast, accurate cancer diagnosis is a key to early detection and successful treatment at Ohio State.

It’s well known that early diagnoses can be literal life savers for cancer patients, but many factors can delay the screening process.

“Symptoms can be ignored, and some cancer screenings can be missed,” says Raquel Reinbolt, MD, the medical director of The James Cancer Diagnostic Center at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). “Folks do much better with treatment when we're able to intervene and get them started on therapy very early on.”

To expedite the diagnosis process, Ohio State leaders opened The James Cancer Diagnostic Center, where a multi-disciplinary team of experts work together to screen and diagnose patients, and then plan and launch treatment strategies.

“We meet with patients and walk through their concerns to try to make them understand the diagnostic journey,” Reinbolt says. “Then, they get direct expedited access to diagnostic testing. If cancer is confirmed, we discuss next steps and connect them with experts here at The James that are best suited to treat their conditions.”

Click here to learn more about The James Cancer Diagnostic Center.

For patients who aren’t diagnosed with cancer, OSUCCC – James experts can facilitate connection with colleagues outside of the oncology field.

“If we don't find cancer — which we hope is the case — we do our best to help patients move on to their next providers, whether that's back to their primary care doctors or to another expert who can help them figure out what's causing their health issues,” Reinbolt says.

When cancer is detected, each patient is connected with a team of doctors, nurses, researchers and others who work together to create unique, comprehensive treatment plans.

“The goal is to help patients navigate uncertainty. Our clinic is devoted to understanding their conditions and making plans to address them,” Reinbolt says. “Our focus is only cancer — we are laser focused on that every day and passionate about care of our patients. This is a journey and we want to walk right there alongside them.”

Click here to learn about types of cancer, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at The Ohio State University.