JCHC MCCREERY CANCER CENTER

Our JCHC McCreery Cancer Center is easily accessed and nestled into a quiet corner of our Health Center. We recognize that the environment can be such an essential component to healing.  Our entire health center features healing environments and our new center is no exception.  Our comfortable treatment areas offer a connection with nature and feature panoramic views of the countryside, pond, trails, wildlife and historic Maasdam Barns.  It’s the best place on our campus.

Large windows create a comfortable and healing atmosphere with lots of natural light filtering into the center. The suite can accommodate seven patients at a time with as much or as little privacy as the patient chooses and has added touches of comfort with individual televisions, music and a guest area. 

Compassionate care is provided by highly trained and specialized nurses with more than 50 years of combined oncology nursing experience.

SERVICES OFFERED AT THE JCHC MCCREERY CANCER CENTER AT JEFFERSON COUNTY HEALTH CENTER:

  • Oncology services
  • Hematology services
  • Chemotherapy administration
  • Administration of fluids and injections
  • Laboratory services
  • If need, collaboration with other medical and hematology specialists
  • Referral to home care
  • Referral to hospice
  • Patient education material
  • Free wigs, scarves, and hats donated by volunteers
  • Blood product administration within the Ambulatory Care Unit at JCHC
  • Port and PICC flushes

 

Phone number:  641-469-4144

Fax Number: 641-469-4138

Hours of operation:

Monday—Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

JCHC MCCREERY CENTER STAFF

Frequently Asked Questions*

What is Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells

How does Chemotherapy work?

Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly.  But it can also harm your healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines or cause your hair to grow. Damage to healthy cells may cause side effects. Often, side effects get better or go away after chemotherapy is over.

What does Chemotherapy do?

Depending on your type of cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy can:

  • Cure Cancer: When chemotherapy destroys cancer cells to the point that your doctor can no longer detect them in your body and they will not grow back
  • Control Cancer: When chemotherapy keeps cancer from spreading, slows its growth, or destroys cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body.
  • Ease Cancer Symptoms (also called palliative care): When chemotherapy shrinks tumors that are causing pain or pressure. 

How is chemotherapy used?

Sometimes, chemotherapy is used as the only cancer treatment, but more often, you will get chemotherapy along with surgery, radiation therapy, or biological therapy. Chemotherapy can:

  • Make a tumor smaller before surgery or radiation therapy. This is called neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.
  • Destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiation therapy. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
  • Help radiation therapy and biological therapy work better.
  • Destroy cancer cells that have come back (recurrent cancer) or spread to other parts of your body (metastatic cancer). 

How does my doctor decide which chemotherapy drugs to use?

The choice depends on:

  • The type of cancer you have. Some types of chemotherapy drugs are used for many types of cancer. Other drugs are used for just one or two types of cancer.
  • Whether you have had chemotherapy before.
  • Whether you have other health problems, such as diabetes or heart disease. 

Where do I go for chemotherapy?

You may receive chemotherapy during a hospital stay, at home, or in a doctor’s office, clinic or outpatient unit in a hospital (which means you don’t have to stay overnight). No matter where you go for chemotherapy, your doctor and nurse will watch for side effects and make any needed drug changes.

How often will I receive chemotherapy?

Treatment schedules for chemotherapy vary widely. How often and how long you get chemotherapy depends on:

  • Your type of cancer and how advanced it is.
  • The goals of treatment (whether chemotherapy is used to cure your cancer, control its growth, or ease the symptoms)
  • How your body reacts to chemotherapy

You may receive chemotherapy in cycles. A cycle is a period of chemotherapy treatment followed by a period of rest. For instance, you might receive 1 week of chemotherapy followed by 3 weeks of rest. These 4 weeks make up one cycle. The rest period gives your body a chance to build new healthy cells.

*Resource: National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (May 2007). Chemotherapy and You. NIH Publication 11-7156.