Beyond Treatmen, Total Patient Care

Cancer is a life changing battle and doctors recognize there are serious side effects that interfere with patients well-being. That's why Bassett Medical Center said it invested in the STAR program... To provide better overall care to patients. "For years we've been focused on treating the disease and now as we have more and more survivors, we realize that we have to focus on treating the patient. And we can eradicate the disease in many cases but we want to restore the patients to their normal life." The staff at Bassett is fully trained in the program, which is designed help survivors physically and emotionally heal from the side effects of cancer. "Usually the patient thinks first about the treatment but from day one it allows us to present life after treatment and tell them that....and give them more hope that they will get back to their normal life. And it's not just treatment, its care." The staff at Bassett would not have been able to participate in the star program if not for two generous donations. The founding donors did so in memory of a dear friend who passed away after a bought with cancer. "I didn't want the struggle to be forgotten but I also know that she would want help to come from what she went through. So really because of Dr. Leonardo and just the empathetic wonderful care that she received here. I thought this would be the first place I'd look for an opportunity for, to do something positive for her life." The program is designed to have a special impact on patients and it all started with a special donation, in Cooperstown, Stephen Bond, Eyewitness News.