Your Medical Team at University of Colorado Cancer Center Blood Cancer and Bone Marrow Transplant Program

Institutes of Excellence—like the University of Colorado Cancer Center —are known for attracting the best and brightest doctors due to their unique research and educational opportunities. This means each doctor on your care team has superior training in his or her area of expertise. These doctors then bring their specialties together to create a patient-focused approach for each individual patient.

Every day, during medical rounds while you are hospitalized, your attending physician, nurse practitioners, psychologist and pharmacist discuss your situation to determine the best course of action for your care. When you visit as an outpatient, you will also work with a variety of caregivers who meet regularly to discuss your care.

You may or may not receive a bone marrow transplant during your care. Below is a list of all members of our team, including those who treat patients undergoing transplants.

Your Medical Team Includes:

Oncologist/Hematologist – Each doctor on your team specializes in care of patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancers), including stem cell transplantation. These doctors, as well as the rest of the transplant team, meet weekly as a group to discuss your care and progress.

Hematopathologist – A doctor who identifies disease by studying tissues using state-of-the-art techniques, including the microscope, immunophenotyping, cytogenetics and gene-rearrangement studies.

Radiologist – A doctor who uses medical imaging technologies like CT scans, PET scans and MRIs to diagnose and sometimes treat disease and determine the effectiveness of various treatments.

Infectious Disease Specialist – A doctor who specializes in the prevention and treatment of disease caused by infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses or fungi.

Oncology and Transplant Fellow – A doctor who is receiving additional, specialized training in oncology and stem cell transplantation. Fellows work closely with, and under the supervision of, other team doctors to manage your care.

Nurse Practitioner – A registered nurse with a master’s degree, advanced training and board certification in patient assessment and medical management. Our nurse practitioners have many years of experience and are specialists at providing high quality, holistic, patient-centered medical care.

Much of their work is performed in the outpatient clinic and infusion center, in addition to the inpatient BMT unit. They perform the majority of inpatient and outpatient procedures, such as bone marrow biopsies. They, too, work closely with the team doctors.

Clinical Coordinator – A nurse who is specifically responsible for working with you, your referring doctor and members of the transplant team to coordinate all aspects of your transplant process.

Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator – A nurse who provides and coordinates staff development and formal and informal education for the inpatient nursing staff.

BMT Nursing Staff – Nurses skilled in the special and complex care needed for cancer and stem cell transplant patients. You will see many of the same nurses in the inpatient, outpatient and pheresis areas.

Certified Nursing Assistant/ Nurse Intern – Nursing assistants trained to assist you with showers, meal trays and self-care needs. The nursing assistants work closely with your nurse.

Charge Nurses – A staff nurse who has leadership skills and responsibilities. Every shift has a charge nurse who coordinates the shift and unit activities.

Nurse Manager – A nurse who oversees the functioning of the inpatient BMT unit.

Patient Services Coordinator – A staff member who provides secretarial support for the inpatient BMT unit.

Care Team Assistant/ Scheduler – These staff members work with you to schedule testing, scans, appointments, biopsies and other visits when needed.

Dietician – A trained professional who monitors your nutritional status and needs. You may meet with the dietician several times throughout your transplant to learn about your special diet needs.

Psychologist – The transplant team psychologist is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in psycho-oncology and the psychosocial needs of patients and their families. The BMT psychologist is available to patients and their family members throughout the transplant process to provide emotional support and ideas for coping with transplant-related stress.

Chaplain – A member of our pastoral support team who is concerned with your spiritual needs. The chaplain is available for assistance with ethical decisions, prayer and religious rites such as Holy Communion and for arranging a priest, rabbi or other denominational representatives.

Pharmacist – A trained health professional who works with the physicians and other team members in monitoring your drug therapy. The pharmacist will assist you in filling your prescription medications and discuss side effects and drug interactions with you and your caregivers.

Social Worker – Throughout the transplant process, this trained professional is available to provide information about financial support, housing and discharge planning and helping patients access multiple resources in the community.

Physical Therapist – This trained health professional helps with your physical abilities and may develop an exercise program to maintain or regain your strength.