About Feist-Weiller Cancer Center
Our History
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is part of the
LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. The State of Louisiana Board of Regents created Feist-Weiller Cancer Center in 1993. Feist-Weiller Cancer Center originally was known as LSU’s Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, Treatment and Education. The name was generated by the Center’s mission statement:
| The Cancer Center works 1) To stimulate multidisciplinary research of cancers prominent in the state of Louisiana; 2) To treat patients with cutting-edge treatment methods, which includes access to national cancer clinical trials; 3) To educate regional health care providers and residents about the prevention, the treatment and the science of cancer. |
The impetus for forming a cancer center at LSUHSC-S was twofold. First, the population cared for by the LSU Hospital would too often present with late stages of cancer. The population was plagued with high rates of poverty; low literacy and low levels of education; and with little access to modern approaches to prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.
Second, although the area containted excellent scientific approaches to cancer problems, there were relatively few local translational cancer researchers, and very little interaction between the clinical arena and the basic science arena.
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center was renamed in 1997 following a generous philanthropic gift to honor the Feist and Weiller families. During the last decade, Feist-Weiller Cancer Center
has been very successful in carrying out its mission statement. Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is dedicated to meeting its obligation to the citizens of Louisiana through excellence in medical care, medical education and public service by:
- Providing our adult and pediatric patients the most innovative and advanced cancer care;
- Supplying our community with cancer sreenings and education materials necessary for prevention;
- Conducting laboratory research and clinical trials to discover better methods of preventing and treating cancer;
- Educating and training our oncology fellows, community physicians and local residents about contemporary cancer treatments so all patients will receive the best possible cancer care.
The positive attributes of Feist-Weiller Cancer Center include:
- A strong multidisciplinary team approach to cancer care;
- A highly successful cancer clinical trials program offering our patients the opportunity to receive the newest and most effective treatments and preventions for cancer;
- Our cancer prevention and screening program Partners in Wellness that provides free cancer screenings, early detection, and cancer education to the entire community;
- Access to a unique patient population;
- Clinical and translational research that is targeted to the unique population.
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center provides cancer care to all patients regardless of their ability to pay.