Our Philosophy at Salem Oncology

Medical care should be delivered with knowledge and love; either one alone is inadequate. A major challenge in today’s health care climate is to infuse humaneness into medicine. At Salem Oncology Center, we are proud to deliver medical care in a milieu of humaneness, love, and compassion. Read more about the Human Dimension.

It is impossible to deliver excellent care without spending a significant amount of time with patients and their families. Time has become an issue in the current environment of medical practice in America (managed care), as extended doctor visits are usually not reimbursable by third-party payers. We at Salem Oncology Center, are committed to giving all the time needed to every patient and the patient’s family to help them understand the treatment process and the prognosis for the disease.

Our commitment to excellence and quality care consumes a great amount of time. Much of this time is spent when the patient is not physically in the clinic. We spend time discussing the diagnosis with the pathologists, discussing radiological findings with radiologists, and reviewing the most up-to-date research on the patient’s disease. This time is not usually reimbursed by insurance, but we are committed to giving this time because it is the only way the patient will receive treatment that will offer the best chance for cure.

We are committed to fighting and conquering cancer with knowledge, perseverance, and hope. We believe that hope is essential in the fight against cancer. Progress in cancer medicine and research is continually being achieved, with new drugs emerging every month. We believe not only in the power of knowledge but also in the power of hope. We have taken care of patients with advanced cancer who were thought to be terminal but who were treated and eventually cured. At all times, however, we emphasize that the patient and the patient’s family will be told “the truth and the whole truth.”

At every juncture in the course of therapy, additional group consultations help to ensure that the patient is receiving the most cutting-edge cancer therapy. After therapy is planned, chemotherapy is delivered by nurses with extensive experience in cancer nursing. Medications are of the highest quality and are mixed by a specialty pharmacy with vast experience in cancer chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is carefully delivered at in-house by our staff members, who know you and care about you. Patients are closely monitored in the clinic, as outpatients, in private rooms.

We achieve excellence by making sure that every patient receives the very best treatment possible. Treatment plans are designed only after an in-depth evaluation of the diagnosis and the anatomic extent of the disease. At that point, we obtain group consultations to make sure that the proposed treatment plan is the most effective one available. Our number one priority is the patient, not research. Patients are enrolled in research programs only when we are strongly convinced that the research program is the best treatment option for that patient.

Dr. Salem abides by very rigorous standards. He begins by confirming pathology to make a definitive and unequivocal diagnosis (which may confirm or significantly modify the initial diagnosis). Pathology (examination of tissue for diagnosis) is reviewed by world-renowned pathologists at the Texas Medical Center. Also, in every instance, Dr. Salem personally reviews x-rays in consultation with several radiologists.

Three major steps are involved in achieving cure of a cancer patient:

1. Making a definitive and unequivocal diagnosis.
2. Correctly staging the anatomic extent of the disease.
3. Having group consultations prior to beginning therapy.

In cancer therapy, there is never only one expert; therefore, before we treat any patient, we consult with a group of experts. This ensures that the patient will receive the most up-to-date and the most effective treatment. We do not only consult with the best specialists in the Texas Medical Center; we also consult with national and international experts. Also, we collaborate with medical experts who are considered to be the best in surgical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, diagnostic radiology, and other cancer-related fields. Treatment is designed only after this consultation is obtained, which guarantees that the patient will receive the best possible treatment.