Gastrointestinal Cancers

Each year, nearly 300,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a type of gastrointestinal cancer. Many of these cancers are too complex or difficult to be treated with just one type of treatment. The multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Cancers Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital provides all gastrointestinal cancer patients, in Connecticut and beyond, with a truly multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of their complex disease. Our physicians have special expertise in the treatment of cancers of the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, colon, and rectum. During a patient’s initial visit to Smilow Cancer Hospital, three cancer specialists - a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and a surgeon – visit with the patient individually. These physicians consult together to develop a comprehensive, concise treatment plan for each patient.

Using a comprehensive team approach, our physicians collaborate with diagnostic and interventional radiologists, gastroenterologists, and pathologists to provide the most expert care available for cancer patients. Our outstanding diagnostic imaging services, including Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), MRI/MRCP and high resolution CT scans, Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and EUS guided fine needle aspiration allow for patients to be properly evaluated at the onset of their diagnosis.

Nationally accepted treatment plans are provided for patients who have recently been diagnosed with cancer; more individualized plans are carefully customized for patients who have not responded to prior therapies and clinical trials are often available for both situations. In one visit, patients will have encountered a team of physicians who will work together, combining their skills and knowledge to provide the highest quality of care. The result is a personal comprehensive treatment plan.

The physicians within the multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Cancers Program are dedicated to providing the most up-to-date and effective care to gastrointestinal cancer patients, advancing the nation's understanding of cancer, and improving diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.