For many cancer patients, treatment can be an isolating and overwhelming journey—marked by fear, fatigue, and the constant burden of travel. But what if chemotherapy could be administered at home? In this episode, we explore the movement to bring cancer care into the comfort of patients’ homes. Could this shift not only ease the experience but also improve outcomes?
This week’s episode of Tomorrow’s Cure features insights from Dr. Roxana Dronca, a hematologist, oncologist, and director of Mayo Clinic’s Florida Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer of the American Cancer Society.
According to the American Cancer Society, someone in the United States is diagnosed with cancer every 15 seconds. This striking statistic has fueled an urgent push for more patient-centered, accessible models of care. But what does this look like in practice?
For Dr. Dronca, the mission is personal—her daughter’s cancer diagnosis revealed the burdens of traditional care. From that experience grew a passionate commitment to change how and where cancer care is delivered.
Dr. Kamal notes, “What’s scary about cancer care is the unknown, the unfamiliarity of its process. But what if we can soften it by making its components feel as normal as possible?”
Mayo Clinic’s response is Cancer CARE Beyond Walls, a new model that delivers specialized care beyond the hospital. The program minimizes travel and maximizes accessibility by combining in-home services with a command center at Mayo Clinic, staffed by advanced practice providers, nurses, and residents. This team coordinates care remotely, ensuring seamless integration with each patient’s medical history.
“Every time I talk about Cancer CARE Beyond Walls, I see no alternative,” says Dr. Dronca. “Patients are living longer, requiring more treatment, and we’re seeing more cancer diagnoses. We’ve truly reached our limits in providing treatment for everyone within physical facilities. So either we think creatively and design a system that allows us to care for more patients in a more patient-friendly way, or we build more chemotherapy units.”
Home-based cancer care is not just a vision—it’s happening now. Tune in to the latest episode of Tomorrow’s Cure to learn more about this transformative approach and what it means for the future of oncology.
