The UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center provides advanced cancer services to Bay Area residents, as well as to patients from all parts of the nation and the world. The medical complex offers cancer education, treatment, and research at facilities that span the university’s five campuses and beyond. The UCSF Cancer Center is staffed by faculty physicians, other health professionals, and cancer researchers who are affiliated with the university.
Comprehensive Cancer Center Care, Education, and Research
In the early 1960s, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) asked Congress for the authorization and funding for a national network of cancer centers that would provide individuals with comprehensive and advanced cancer services. In 1971, the National Cancer Act was signed into law and the establishment of the nation’s cancer center network was soon underway. Today, a Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) designation is currently awarded to 41 of the nation’s 63 cancer centers.
The NCI grants a CCC rating to those facilities that provide advanced cancer treatment, education, and research programs, and each CCC must comply with stringent regulations and meet clearly defined criteria designed to measure the quality of cancer services at each facility. This ‘comprehensive’ rating is subject to ongoing review, and all CCC’s are typically reevaluated every 3-5 years.
Cancer Research at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
The close proximity of patient care to cancer research and clinical trials, allows the UCSF Cancer Center to deliver advanced cancer treatment to patients who will oftentimes benefit from new drugs or other therapies being developed at the UCSF medical complex. Additionally, individuals who are disease-free can also benefit from the cancer center’s initiatives on cancer education and prevention.
The UCSF Cancer Center research program has developed a number of important cancer breakthroughs, perhaps the most notable being the Nobel Prize-winning joint research effort of J. Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus. The two UCSF researchers are responsible for the discovery of cancer causing oncogenes, a significant development that has allowed cancer researchers to better understand the underlying origins of many types of cancer.
Faculty researchers at the UCSF Cancer Center perform their tasks in over 50 different departments and facilities within the UCSF Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Approximately half of the Cancer Center’s faculty are involved with research projects that are undertaken at UCSF or in other Bay Area institutions, and the Cancer Research Institute at UCSF’s Mount Zion campus serves as the nexus for much of the research that falls under the general categorizations listed below:
- Basic scientific research investigates disease free cellular processes to better understand the mechanisms that come into play when normal cellular replication is supplanted by the uncontrolled cellular growth that is typically associated with cancer.
- Clinical research leads to a better understanding of how to best analyze a naturally occurring biological event, that analysis is then utilized to develop a useful and relevant laboratory tool for researchers. From the results of this research, clinical trials are developed to test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs or other cancer fighting therapies.
- Population science research involves the wide ranging and comprehensive study of cancer occurrences and deaths in diverse, Northern California populations. This knowledge is critical to developing improved techniques and procedures to promote prevention and early detection of cancer.
Patient Care at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
The UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center offers treatment for all types of cancer at the four medical centers listed below:
- UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion: Outpatient services for patients receiving radiological screening and diagnosis, as well as radiation therapies for a wide variety of cancers including: breast; gastrointestinal; major organs; urological and gynecological; bone, skin and other types of cancer.
- UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus: Inpatient care for neurological and spinal cord cancer, as well as blood related cancers such as leukemia and lymphomas. The Parnassus campus facility also offers bone marrow transplants and pediatric cancer care.
- San Francisco General Hospital: This inpatient and outpatient facility is owned, operated, and/or is under the aegis of the City and County of San Francisco, as well as other public entities such as the Department of Public Health.
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center: This UCSF satellite medical facility falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-cancer and other health care services are provided at this facility for veterans throughout Northern California.
Cancer Support Services
The UCSF Cancer Center provides cancer patients and their families with a variety of support services that include:
- The Ida and Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center: This facility provides a wide variety of cancer support services relevant to cancer education, prevention, treatment options, emotional support, hospice and other cancer community resource information.
- Friend to Friend: For many individuals, cancer treatments can cause undesirable changes in appearance such as hair loss and flawed complexions. The Friend to Friend initiative offered at the UCSF Cancer Center assists these patients by supplying them with wigs, makeup, scarves, and other items to help them with this problem.
- Art for Recovery: This program works with cancer patients by giving them an outlet to express their feelings through various art workshops and other art related services.
Contact the UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center
The main toll-free phone number is (800) 888 -8664 or 415-885-7777, and for a more complete phone listing directory or to learn more about the UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, please visit their website at www.cancer.ucsf.edu/
Mailing Address:
UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center
Box 0128 UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-0128
Care Center Address:
UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center
1600 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Google map to UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
