Group offering chemo in Fort Morgan

Fort Morgan Times
By JOHN BRENNAN, Times Editor
Monday, October 27, 2008

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Members of Fort Range Cancer Specialists briefed area health care professionals Thursday on genetic mutations that increase risks of cancer — and made note of their new weekly chemotherapy service available at Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan.

CPMC has offered some chemo services in the past, but this is the first time an oncology office has offered cheno on a regular weekly basis here, hospital officials indicated.

“The need came from a lot of Fort Morgan patients and Colorado patients having to travel,” Dr. Diana Medgyesy said of the Fort Collins-based group’s decision to lease space in CPMC’s medical office building and offer chemotherapy and other services on Tuesdays.

Coming every month or two to CPMC’s Specialty Clinic did not provide enough continuity, she said.

Medgyesy and Dr. James Moore are on staff at CPMC, and another Front Range physician, Dr. Ross McFarland, will also be joining the CPMC staff, CPMC officials said.

Medical professionals from Fort Morgan, Brush, Wiggins, Sterling and Holyoke gathered Thursday for a presentation by several Front Range Cancer Specialist staff members about genetic mutations that increase the risk of cancer.

Front Range offers screenings to detect such mutations and ways of managing the increased risks that those mutations represent, the presenters said.

Lisa Radice, one of two nurse practitioners speaking Thursday, said the procedures are not cheap — she mentioned several procedures with a cost range of $700 to more than $3,000.

However, she said, many insurance companies provide coverage for genetic testing: “It’s a lot cheaper to do this testing than to treat cancer.”

Although Medicare and many insurance companies provide coverage, Medicare and some companies require patients to meet criteria before they will cover testing, Radice said. Often, the patient must document a personal or family history of cancer to be covered.

There are grants available that Front Range can facilitate for some patients, she noted.

Amy Wing, the other nurse practitioner speaking Thursday, said personal and family histories are a big factor in assessing patients’ risks of cancer. The final decision on whether to test, she said, rests with the patient.

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— Contact John La Porte at news@fmtimes.com.