King's Daughters joins Markey affiliate network
King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland has entered into a new affiliation with the UK Markey Cancer Center, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
By becoming a UK Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network member, King’s Daughters can offer patients in Eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio and West Virginia access to additional specialty and subspecialty care, including clinical trials and advanced technology, while allowing them to stay closer to home for most treatments.
In 2017, 802 new cancer cases were treated at King’s Daughters, with most patients coming from 12 counties in the region. In Kentucky, these include Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Lawrence, Lewis and Martin counties. In Ohio, patients primarily come from Lawrence and Scioto counties. Patients from Wayne County, W.Va., also seek treatment at King’s Daughters.
The top five types of cancer treated at King’s Daughters are lung, breast, colon, prostate and skin cancer.
In 2015, King’s Daughters also joined Markey’s Research Network, which allows the hospital to run many of Markey’s oncology clinical trials on-site in Ashland. King’s Daughters has participated in oncology research with UK for more than 30 years.
The Markey Affiliate Network was created to provide high-quality cancer care closer to home for patients across the region, and to minimize the effects of cancer through prevention and education programs, exceptional clinical care and access to research.
The affiliate network is especially important for Kentucky, where cancer rates are the highest in the nation.
“Kentucky is home to some of the worst cancer rates in the country,” said Dr. Tim Mullett, medical director of the affiliate network. “Collaborating with our affiliate hospitals across the state will enable us to make a positive impact on the dire cancer rates here in the Commonwealth.”
Markey is one of only 69 medical centers in the country to earn an NCI Cancer Center designation. Because of the designation, Markey patients have access to new drugs, treatment options and clinical trials offered only at NCI centers.
Moving forward, Markey is working toward the next tier of designation as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Currently, 45 of the 69 NCI-designated cancer centers in the country hold comprehensive cancer center status. The Markey Affiliate Network will play a significant role in bringing that next level of cancer funding to Kentucky.
The UK Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network began in 2006 and includes 20 hospitals across Kentucky:
- Clark Regional Medical Center, Winchester
- Frankfort Regional Medical Center
- Georgetown Community Hospital
- Hardin Memorial Hospital, Elizabethtown
- Harlan ARH Hospital
- Harrison Memorial Hospital, Cynthiana
- Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center
- Highlands Regional Medical Center, Prestonsburg
- King’s Daughters Medical Center, Ashland
- Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, Somerset
- Methodist Hospital, Henderson
- Norton Cancer Institute, Louisville (Norton Healthcare-UK HealthCare partnership)
- Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Ashland
- Owensboro Health Regional Hospital
- Rockcastle Regional Hospital, Mt. Vernon
- St. Claire Regional Medical Center, Morehead
- St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Edgewood
- The Medical Center at Bowling Green
- TJ Samson Community Hospital, Glasgow
- Tug Valley ARH Regional Medical Center, South Williamson
