St. Helena Hospital has joined forces with UCSF Medical Center to enhance area cancer care. The hospital’s Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF Medical Center have begun an affiliation that will provide North Bay patients with access to clinical research trials and express referrals to cancer specialists through a convenient Napa Valley location.

The affiliation, initially set for five years, enhances the services of the Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center by providing coordinated access to a comprehensive array of services available at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is one of the nation’s largest clinical and research cancer programs. The overarching goal of the UCSF collaboration is to improve access to high quality, evidence-based care for patients from throughout the North Bay.

As part of the collaboration, cancer physicians from SHH will have the opportunity to review select cases at the UCSF interdisciplinary tumor boards to determine the best course of treatment and assure patient access to the most advanced therapies. SHH physicians also will receive current information on UCSF’s cancer clinical trials and plans are underway to have a designated liaison to facilitate enrollment of appropriate patients into UCSF trials. In addition, the two organizations will work together to develop a symposium on cancer prevention and treatment for consumers and physicians in Napa Valley.