Patients undergoing these therapies can often be hospitalized for weeks. Tampa General’s new unit allows patients to visit the hospital for daily treatment and monitoring instead, according to a Dec. 12 news release from the hospital.
“Shifting to an outpatient setting for patients receiving cell therapy can have several benefits, including that the majority of patients prefer the comforts of living at home, are more physically active and have better nutrition,” Ivan Borrello, MD, director of the multiple myeloma, bone marrow transplant and cell therapies program at Tampa General, said in the release. “Living at home with the support of loved ones and trusted caregivers enables patients to live a fuller life each day and their condition tends to improve more quickly and experience less depression and anxiety.”
Patients and caregivers must live within a 60-minute radius of Tampa General to qualify for the outpatient program. Caregivers are required to undergo training and meet specific medical criteria as well, the release said.
The Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute opened its bone marrow transplant and cell therapies unit in 2022 and began offering its CAR T-cell treatment program in 2023.
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