Medical Oncology
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Dr. Ketterl believes in empowering her patients
and recommends treatment options best-suited
to each patient.
Our medical oncologists are determined to find the best treatment for each patient. They thoroughly review your medical history and current condition and offer recommendations for cancer treatment.
Medical oncologists on staff at CTCA at Southwestern Regional Medical Center include the following:
In some cases, patients come to CTCA for a second opinion.
A Second Look
As Dr. Petra Ketterl points out, “We’re used to looking at a patient’s cancer with fresh eyes to see if there’s something else we can do to treat it.”
All of our oncologists emphasize the importance of getting a second opinion. By taking another look at the same information your regular doctor sees, we may discover ways to treat your cancer he or she had not considered.
Dr. Ketterl adds, “It’s really important to look at all of the details—the patient’s scans, labs, what’s happened before, and more. Then you really have to make an individualized decision based on studies, as well as if and how the patient has been treated previously.”
No Two Alike
We recognize what is appropriate for treating one person’s cancer may not be for another.
As Dr. Ketterl notes, “What people often don’t realize is that not any one cancer is the same as another. Even for a person with the same type of cancer, the situation may be different.”
Off-the-shelf solutions to fighting cancer seem to be a dime a dozen in most hospitals. But here at Southwestern Regional Medical Center, we don’t settle for a “standard approach” to cancer care simply because it’s what other cancer centers are doing. We dig deeper to try to find as many options as we possibly can. Our oncologists are creative thinkers and problem solvers who make recommendations for cancer treatment.
Sometimes, there may be hope in a clinical research study. Dr. Ketterl points to a current study she is conducting as an example—treating colon cancer with chronotherapy (also known as chronomodulated chemotherapy). This unique therapy involves treating a patient’s colon cancer with chemo drugs at a precise time of the day, when the cancer cells are vulnerable (as they are dividing).
Power to the Patient
Our oncologists believe in patient empowerment. They offer innovative treatment options, provide information you can comprehend and work with you to select the treatment that is right for you.
Dr. Ketterl says, "My job is as a consultant to the patient, to relay information about their situation and explain the options. Together, we then choose the best-suited approach to each patient's treatment."