Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

Programs: MBPCC is the most comprehensive and experienced radiation therapy treatment center in Louisiana and offers the most advanced radiation therapy available in the world including IMRT, advanced IGRT through BrainLAB Novalis and the TomoTherapy Hi-Art System, stereotactic radiosurgery, adaptive radiotherapy and 4-D CT tumor localization. These services include both external and internal methods of radiation therapy to treat cancer and other non-cancerous conditions.

There are ten radiation oncologists practicing at MBPCC. The extended medical staff also includes neurosurgeons, radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and a dental oncologist.
Unique to the Center is its world-renowned medical physics team made up of twelve medical physicists and seven dosimetrists. MBPCC has an exclusive medical physics academic and research partnership with Louisiana State University to discover new cancer treatments, enabling the Center to attract the brightest minds in cancer treatment to Baton Rouge. The treatment team at MBPCC is dedicated to fighting cancer and other non-cancerous conditions.  In 2006 MBPCC provided over 37,780 treatments (external beam and special procedures) to over 1,787 patients and provided follow-up care for over 6,048 patient visits. MBPCC has approximately 50 clinical trials open at any given time. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center has two integrated cancer programs, one with Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center in Baton Rouge and one with St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington.  The C.A.R.E. Network was created in 2002 to respond to Louisiana's severe cancer mortality problem. Disparities in cancer care are prevalent in Louisiana -- a state in which too many people die from cancer, in comparison to other states, because of late stage diagnosis. These mortality rates are attributed to Louisiana's significant low income population with barriers to health care services, including early detection. While many citizens believe Louisiana's cancer incidence rates are higher than the rest of the nation, data does not support that belief. Under-utilization of cancer screenings by Louisianans has been reported by the National Centers for Disease Control and is a contributing factor to Louisiana?s high cancer mortality rates.  The C.A.R.E. Network is an acronym for Cancer support services, Awareness and education, Research and Early detection. The C.A.R.E. Network plans and implements services and programs for cancer patients, health care professionals and the general public including social services, nutritional services, dental services, transportation, professional education, patient education, community education, clinical research, clinical trials, tumor registry, cancer screenings, lymphedema clinics and interactive cancer risk assessments. These services are funded by philanthropic support. The C.A.R.E. Network's premier platform is its strategic and comprehensive early detection outreach efforts.