Breast surgeon Monica DaSilva, MD, FACS, appointed to Commission on Cancer position
Fall River, Mass. – Monica DaSilva, MD, FACS, of Steward Medical Group Breast Care, has received a three-year appointment from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) as Cancer Liaison Physician for the cancer program at Saint Anne’s Hospital.
Dr. DaSilva, who has a significant interest in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with malignant diseases, is a member of the multidisciplinary cancer committee at Saint Anne's Hospital. A specialist in breast surgery, Dr. DaSilva returned to the Fall River area in 2016 after completing a one-year fellowship in breast surgical oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She cares for a wide variety of breast conditions, including benign breast disease, breast cancer, high-risk breast lesions, mastectomy (including nipple-sparing mastectomy), and genetic predisposition to breast cancer. She is board certified by the American Board of Surgeons and by the American Society of Breast Surgeons in breast ultrasound and stereotactic breast procedures.
Dr. DaSilva is among a national network of more than 1,500 volunteer physicians who are responsible for providing leadership and direction to establish, maintain, and support their facilities' cancer programs.
Cancer liaison physicians are an integral part of cancer programs accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. They are responsible for evaluating, interpreting, and reporting their facilities’ performance data through the National Cancer Data Base and facilitating quality improvement initiatives based on data findings.
In addition, the cancer liaison physician is responsible for leading CoC initiatives within the cancer program and collaborating with agencies such as the American Cancer Society on behalf of the hospital. The CoC collects data from its accredited cancer programs and provides tools for these programs to facilitate analysis of patterns of diagnosis, treatment, and quality of care for patients treated at the hospital.
About the Commission on Cancer
The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and monitoring of comprehensive quality care.
The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society (ACS), is a nationwide oncology outcomes database for more than 1,500 Commission-accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Some 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of cancer in the United States are captured at the institutional level and reported to the NCDB.
The Cancer Liaison Physician works with the cancer program staff to facilitate the submission, presentation, use, and interpretation of NCDB data. Analyzing and sharing these data with the cancer committee can have a positive impact on cancer patient care at the facility.
Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in 1906, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a full-service, acute care Catholic hospital with 185 beds and satellite locations in Attleboro, Swansea, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Stoughton, Massachusetts. The hospital provides nationally recognized patient- and family-centered inpatient and outpatient clinical services to patients from surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. In addition to comprehensive diagnostic, medical, surgical, and emergency services, key services include Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Fall River and Dartmouth; the Joint Commission-certified Center for Orthopedic Excellence; ambulatory surgery centers in Attleboro and Dartmouth; the Center for Pain Management in Swansea and Dartmouth; and geriatric psychiatry services at locations in Fall River and Stoughton.
About Saint Anne's Hospital Regional Cancer Center
Founded in 1976 at Saint Anne’s Hospital, Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center provides expertise with the care and convenience of a community setting to patients in the Greater Fall River-Greater New Bedford area. With locations at the Hudner Oncology Center at Saint Anne’s Hospital, Fall River, and Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Dartmouth, the center provides comprehensive medical oncology and hematology care; radiation oncology services provided in collaboration with physicians from Brigham and Women’s Radiation Oncology Associates, who also hold appointments at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School; access to national clinical trials; and professional and patient/family support services. Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center is nationally accredited with commendation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons as a comprehensive community cancer program and unconditionally accredited in radiation oncology by the American College of Radiology.