ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Health leaders announced Monday that they are parting ways with the MD Anderson Cancer Center and joining forces with the University of Florida.
The change brings a bigger research team to treat cancer on an individual level.
Speakers at a Monday morning event spoke a lot about expensive individual cancer treatments, such as genetic testing, that some people have opted to get on their own.
That will now be available to patients at Orlando Health on an as-needed basis with the help of Dr. Phillips Charities, who has pledged $1.5 million to help pay for care that is not covered by insurance.
About 2,000 patients initially will be able to have genetic testing on tumors and cancer cells to determine the best course of treatment.
In addition, the new partnership allows patients access to newer drugs and clinical trials that weren't available through the MD Anderson system.
"To have access to additional trials and new treatments is so important because every person's cancer is different," said Orlando Health's Chief Nurse Ann Peach. "We had access to clinical trials so we built a tremendous program working with them. This will actually take us to the next level."
The partnership with UF also means there are an additional 100 doctors and scientists studying cancer cases from central Florida.
"It's going to be the same doctors, the same model of multidisciplinary care we've used. We'll have that proximity with the University of Florida, so we see it as advancing what we've built to this," said President of Orlando Health Physician Partners Wayne Jenkins.