[[{"@type":["BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/hopeful-news-for-cancer-patients-from-iuliana-shapira-md-rccas-chief-medical-officer\/#BlogPosting","@context":{"@vocab":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","kg":"http:\/\/g.co\/kg"},"url":["https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/hopeful-news-for-cancer-patients-from-iuliana-shapira-md-rccas-chief-medical-officer\/","https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/hopeful-news-for-cancer-patients-from-iuliana-shapira-md-rccas-chief-medical-officer\/"],"publisher":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/"}],"author":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/hopeful-news-for-cancer-patients-from-iuliana-shapira-md-rccas-chief-medical-officer\/#BlogPosting_author_Organization","name":"Regional Cancer Care Associates"}],"inLanguage":"en-US","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/hopeful-news-for-cancer-patients-from-iuliana-shapira-md-rccas-chief-medical-officer\/#BlogPosting_image_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Shapira_Iuliana-1.jpg"}],"headline":"Hopeful news for cancer patients from Iuliana Shapira, MD, RCCA\u2019s chief medical officer","dateModified":"2021-11-11T13:08:05+00:00","datePublished":"2019-07-23T09:38:54+00:00","articleBody":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 23, 2019\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\nThe way cancer is treated is changing. Physicians will soon approach a patient\u2019s cancer the same way they approach a patient\u2019s high blood pressure \u2014 as a serious condition that, while incurable, can be managed with medications that have few side effects, according to Iuliana Shapira, MD, chief medical officer for Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC, or RCCA.\n\u201cThe main message I have for people dealing with cancer, and for their families, is one of hope,\u201d Dr. Shapira said. \u201cWe are learning very fast how cancer starts, works, and travels. New therapies are invented every day. Patients should be optimistic.\u201d\nAs the chief medical officer of RCCA, one of the nation\u2019s largest networks of oncology specialists, Dr. Shapira is working to speed such advances so that patients can realize the benefits of an expanding understanding of cancer, of innovative therapies to treat cancer, and of the way cancer care is delivered.\nIuliana Shapira, MD, chief medical officer for Regional Cancer Care Associates.\nThe board-certified hematologist oncologist speaks as someone who has helped drive progress in cancer care. Dr. Shapira has conducted basic-science research in the role that ribonucleic acid (RNA) plays in the development of malignancies, and has done extensive clinical research in breast cancer, ovarian and gastrointestinal malignancies and drug development. She served for several years as associate professor of Medicine at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, and was director of its Center for Cancer Genetics and Cancer Control from 2008 to 2014. Before joining RCCA earlier this year, she served as division chief for Hematology and Oncology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.\nThe cancer specialist noted that RCCA has a strong track record of bringing cutting-edge therapies and clinical trials to community-based practices, where most cancer care in the United States is delivered.\n\u201cRCCA combines academic centers with community practices to pursue a very clear mission: Create an up-to-date, safe, and efficient office practice to deliver patient-centered cancer care,\u201d Dr. Shapira said. \u201cAt RCCA, we place the patient at the center of our activities, and we are committed to wrapping services around the patients and offering them the best care in an appropriate and coordinated manner.\u201d\nRCCA, which has 30 care delivery sites in New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Maryland\/Washington, DC area, offers patient navigation, financial navigation, financial assistance with copays, and health coaching, as well as care coordination. Meanwhile, RCCA doctors are part of the community fiber.\n\u201cThey care for people they see in the grocery store, worship with, and whose children attend the same schools as their children,\u201d Dr. Shapira said. \u201cOur doctors own their patients\u2019 problems. In addition, our academic medical center affiliate, the John Theurer Cancer Center of Hackensack University Medical Center, is an incubator of innovation. The breakthroughs discovered in academia are thus rapidly disseminated into all our practices.\u201d\nIn her role as chief medical officer, Dr. Shapira is pursuing four goals with RCCA\u2019s 120 physicians:\nGuaranteeing patient access in various community settings;Charting an optimal roadmap of care;Fostering an understanding of the whole cancer journey and its distinct components; and,Promoting the best quality cancer care and patient experiences while lowering the cost of care for patients.\nOne major focus for Dr. Shapira is expanding patient access to the many clinical trials offered at RCCA care sites. She also is working with physicians on the dissemination and implementation of tools and interventions that rapidly translate cutting-edge therapies into daily practice, to deliver the latest gains in cancer knowledge to vulnerable or difficult-to-reach populations, and to effectively monitor the quality of intervention delivery.\n\u201cOur aim is to bridge the gap between clinical research and everyday practice by building a knowledge base about how health information, new technologies and interventions, and new clinical practices and guidelines are translated into community-based healthcare,\u201d Dr. Shapira said.\nShe said integrating diagnostic and treatment advances into community-based cancer care is critical given the move toward using highly individualized therapies that often target specific genetic mutations.\n\u201cCancer is a disease of genes, and as we learn more about genetic changes in cancer that drive the ability of cells to multiply continuously, invade and spread, more treatments are coming to the market,\u201d she said. \u201cThese treatments apply to specific patients with the mutation regardless of their cancer. For example, one specific mutation found in many cancers is V600E, found in a gene called BRAF. Any patient with this mutation, regardless of the specific cancer \u2014 melanoma, lung or colon cancer, or a form of leukemia \u2014 is able to respond to the same set of pills. We are rapidly moving away from organ-specific cancer treatment toward mutation-specific treatment. This is a revolution in the way we treat cancer.\u201d\nRCCA is well prepared to offer its patients the benefits of this treatment revolution. The network uses next-generation genomic sequencing of both the cancer and the patient\u2019s own DNA make-up to identify the best precision medications for him or her. When applied correctly to patients\u2019 DNA fingerprint, these new precision medications extend survival by more than three-fold compared to chemotherapy.\nIn many cases, physicians are able to test for these mutations in patients\u2019 blood, avoiding additional biopsies. They also can test to see if a patient is well-suited for treatment with a variety of immune therapies, which are far more promising than older chemo treatments. Current treatments also include harnessing a patient\u2019s immune systems with CAR-T cells, a form of cellular therapy proven to prolong life.\n\u201cWe make every effort to identify every possible targeted therapy candidate and offer him or her the optimal treatment,\u201d she said.\nFor care to be truly \u201cpatient-centered,\u201d however, therapeutic advances must be matched by an evolution in the way patients move through the health care system, Dr. Shapira said, adding that this is a major area of focus for RCCA.\n\u201cFor patients, the journey through cancer \u2014 from screening and prevention to diagnosis and treatment and disease resolution or end of life \u2014 is complex and multileveled. At each stage in that journey, their cancer is managed by personnel working within their own fields of expertise, often in total separation from others involved in the patient\u2019s care,\u201d she said. \u201cRCCA was established to change this approach to cancer care. Our physicians integrated their practices with the aim of putting the patient first, and to deliver superior quality and the best value care to our patients. The RCCA model provides useful information for health care providers in determining how best to organize service delivery to achieve the best outcomes, and the best quality of care at the lowest cost for our patients. Our clinical integration allows our patients to be supported by nurse navigators and social workers who help break down the silos of care.\u201d\nThat integration of care also encompasses close collaboration and communication with patients\u2019 primary care physicians, Ob\/Gyns, urologists, and other doctors. Dr. Shapira noted that RCCA\u2019s commitment to providing value-based care is reflected in its participation in the Oncology Care Model created by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the government agency that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs.\n\u201cWe voluntarily submitted to intense scrutiny to show in a fully transparent manner that we offer the best care,\u201d she said. \u201cThe next model of cancer care delivery will be created by the hard-working oncologists with RCCA at the forefront of innovation. I am honored to be part of this group.\u201d\nwe are here for you\nFor more information or to schedule an appointment, call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.\nRELATED ARTICLES\nRegional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.\n\u00a9 2022 Regional Cancer Care Associates. 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