Simmons Cancer Institute Providing Cancer Care in Litchfield

A new partnership between Simmons Cancer Institute (SCI) at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield and Litchfield Oncology Institute will expand area cancer patients’ access to cancer care.

Sherjeel Sana, MD, assistant professor of hematology/oncology at SCI, will hold clinic hours every Tuesday at the clinic located at 1201 East Union in Litchfield. Appointments can be made by calling 217-545-8000.

Sana said SCI physicians also travel to Staunton and Jacksonville. “This is a continuation of our efforts to provide oncology services to patients closer to their homes.” SIU School of Medicine’s cancer specialists have been treating patients in Jacksonville since September and in Staunton since 2013.

Area patients, Sana said, previously had to travel to Staunton to receive care. “We are now able to provide care closer to home for patients from Litchfield, Hillsboro, Gillespie and the surrounding area. We are truly thankful to our primary care physician colleagues in the Montgomery County region who had an important role in making this happen,” he said.

SCI practices the team approach to cancer care. “Our team, which includes surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, nurses and social workers, meets to determine the course of treatment for our patients. From the first day that a patient is seen, we work together to determine the best plan of treatment for the patient,” Sana said. “This is what academic excellence in care is all about.”

Sana is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Utah/Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, and also earned a master’s degree in clinical investigation at the university (2014). He completed fellowships in bone marrow transplant at Stanford University in California (2011) and in molecular diagnostics at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond (2004).

The mission of Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU is to serve the people of central and southern Illinois by addressing their present and future cancer needs through education, research, patient care and community service. Its website is www.siumed.edu/cancer.