In addition to cancer treatments, patients in Norman will have access to other services offered through a National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center, including clinical trials studying drugs for many types and stages of cancer. Phase I clinical trials, in which humans receive a drug for the first time, will continue to be offered only at Stephenson Cancer Center in Oklahoma City. However, with the opening of the new facility, patients can enroll in Phase II and III clinical trials and receive their care in Norman.
Norman Regional also will offer patients an expanded range of supportive care services through Stephenson Cancer Center. This includes counseling services specific to cancer patients, nutritional services to support the body through cancer treatment, palliative care to manage cancer-related symptoms, cancer rehabilitation to recover function, and much more.
“We are excited to extend the reach of Stephenson Cancer Center and bring these opportunities to patients in Norman and surrounding communities,” said Robert Mannel, M.D., director of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center. “This partnership represents Stephenson Cancer Center’s first opportunity to begin expanding into a statewide network for the residents of Oklahoma, which is the charge that the Oklahoma Legislature has given us. Stephenson Cancer Center is the state’s most comprehensive oncology practice, and we rank No. 1 among all cancer centers in the nation for the number of people participating in NCI-sponsored clinical trials. That means scientific breakthroughs are more readily translated into new treatment options that bring new hope to patients fighting cancer.”