Cancer: With you for every step of your cancer journey

Our specialists treat a variety of cancers affecting different types of blood cells, such as:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

• Hodgkin lymphoma

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

• Multiple myeloma

• Myelodysplastic syndromes

• Myeloproliferative disorders

Our doctors work quickly to identify blood cancers so treatment can begin sooner.

Our expert team of doctors and other healthcare professionals cares for more than 850 new breast cancer patients and more than 3,000 survivors each year.

The UW Health Brain Tumor Center is a leader in the diagnosis, research and treatment of patients with brain tumors.

At UW Health, we work as a team to diagnose and treat many kinds of gastrointestinal cancers, such as:

• Barrett's Esophagus

• Colon cancer

• Esophageal cancer

• Liver cancer

• Pancreatic cancer

• Rectal cancer

No matter what stage your cancer is, we offer the latest treatments to help you achieve better health.

Cancers affecting the urinary system and genitals may cause particularly distressing symptoms. We bring together a variety of specialists to meet your specific needs by treating several types of genitourinary cancers:

• Adrenocortical cancer

• Bladder cancer

• Kidney cancer

• Penile cancer

• Prostate cancer

• Testicular cancer

• Transitional cell cancer or the renal, pelvis and ureter

• Urethral cancer

We offer many treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and minimally invasive surgery for genitourinary cancers.

UW Health provides personalized care to women with various types of gynecological cancers like:

• Cervical cancer

• Ovarian cancer

• Uterine cancer

• Vulvar cancer

We also assist with any other concerns you may have regarding gynecological cancer treatment, such as family planning.

The UW Head and Neck Cancer Program and the Carbone Cancer Center bring together specialists from a variety of disciplines to provide innovative and effective treatment for patients with head and neck cancers.

Hodgkin lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin disease, begins in lymphocytes (white blood cells). These cells help protect you from infections and other health problems. Hematologic, or blood-related, cancer specialists at the UW Carbone Cancer Center treat common and rare types of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Lung cancer is the most common type of thoracic cancer but also includes cancers of other organs within the chest. Your care team may include thoracic surgeons, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists.

Multiple myeloma is the second-most common type of blood cancer. It occurs most often in adults older than 65. In multiple myeloma, cancerous cells form in the bone marrow. This type of cancer involves the white blood cells known as plasma B cells. When abnormal plasma B cells multiply uncontrollably, they can form tumors in many different bones.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the name for many cancers that affect your lymphocytes (white blood cells). Non-Hodgkin lymphoma starts in either B-cells (which create antibodies that fight infection) or T-cells (which help B-cells make antibodies and may kill cancer cells). Some non-Hodgkin lymphomas are aggressive and grow quickly. Others grow and spread slowly (indolent). At the UW Carbone Cancer Center, hematologic, or blood-related, cancer specialists care for people with all types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

UW Health’s pediatric cancer specialists at American Family Children’s Hospital and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center provide state-of-the-art care for many forms of childhood cancer, including:

• Pediatric Hodgkin’s lymphoma

• Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

• Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

• Pediatric Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  

We care for infants, children and adolescents with cancer, hematological, neurocutaneous and immunological disorders.

Sarcomas are cancers in the connective tissue of the body, including the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and blood vessels. Our team of orthopedic surgeons, gynecologic oncologists, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists work together to provide the best possible care.

Our team of dermatologists, surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons and otolaryngologists work together to provide the most comprehensive care for patients with melanomas of the skin and eye.

Immunotherapy triggers your immune system to attack and kill cancer cells. Many immunotherapies are offered only through clinical trials. Others are approved for treatment outside of clinical trials. CAR T-cell therapy for aggressive lymphoma is one type of immunotherapy offered at UW Health.

Bone marrow transplants replace stem cells damaged by cancer or cancer treatments. They are sometimes called stem cell transplants.

At UW Health, we offer transplants from a donor with a specific protein marker that closely matches yours. These are called allogeneic stem cell transplants. We also perform transplants where we harvest your healthy blood stem cells and return them to you. This is called an autologous transplant.

We also perform double umbilical cord blood transplants which require two units of donated umbilical cord blood for a successful adult transplant.

Our Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) program is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT).

Chemotherapy is the name of a group of drugs that destroy cancer cells. Used to cure cancer or prevent cancer from returning, chemotherapy can slow down cancer growth and control cancer symptoms.

Surgery may be recommended to prevent, diagnose, stage or treat cancer.

• Preventive surgery — Surgery to remove tissue or organs that could become cancerous. Preventive surgery may be recommended following a cancer screening or genetic risk assessment. 

• Diagnostic surgery (biopsy) — Surgery to diagnose cancer. During a biopsy, doctors remove tissue and evaluate it in the laboratory.

• Staging surgery — Surgery that helps your doctors to determine how far cancer has spread.

• Treatment surgery — Surgery to remove all or part of your cancer. 

At UW Health, we offer minimally invasive, robotic and traditional surgical options. Minimally invasive surgery requires smaller incisions. This speeds recovery time.