Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has recently worked with the VHL Family Alliance and established a VHL clinical care center. Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) has seen and managed patients with VHL for years and the establishment of this clinical care center will serve all VHL patients more efficiently. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s clinical care center includes a coordinated team of physicians that are experienced in the comprehensive care of VHL patients. This will allow for thorough patient evaluation and enhanced continuity of care for individuals with VHL and other hereditary kidney cancer syndromes.

Jonathan Coleman MD and Cassandra Mills RN will be the patient’s first points of contact. Dr. Coleman is a urologic surgeon and worked at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) with significant clinical and research expertise in VHL including minimally invasive procedures and organ conserving surgery. Ms. Mills has a broad experience in multiple medical fields and has served as a nurse coordinator skilled in managing complex medical care. They are very interested in VHL as a whole and have organized an outstanding team of physicians and researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering for the benefit of their patients.

Though Dr. Coleman’s area is Oncology with an interest in VHL kidney and adrenal tumors, the structure of the Memorial Sloan Kettering program is thorough in its scope. As described, “the initiative includes the creation of a multidisciplinary team to evaluate each patient for the multiple manifestations of this disease process and to coordinate the care and follow-up among the different disciplines. A shared database of clinical information will be created that will not only aid in tracking patient care but also allow for the identification of successful treatment strategies to promote continual improvements in clinical care.”

This database may prove to be one of the most useful tools to physicians who follow VHL patients at MSK. The implementation and effective use of this clinical database will serve to address all areas of concern for the patient, accessible by all members of the team. This approach will allow for early detection and tracking of medical conditions associated with the syndrome.

To contact Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Telephone +1(646)-422-4432 or send a Fax +1(212)-988-0768. Dr. Coleman will be able to review your case and help coordinate your visit according to your medical needs.

As printed in the VHL Family Forum 15:3, September 2007. For permission to reprint, please contact VHL Family Alliance, editor@vhl.org. Further information is available from the VHL Family Alliance, info@vhl.org.