Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center expands to HOPE Tower at Jersey Shore University Medical Center

New cancer location will expand access to research and physician expertise for patients in Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware

Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, is expanding to HOPE Tower at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, NJ.

John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked as the best cancer center in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report.  The premier cancer center is best known for having a nationally recognized blood cancers program including multiple myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia, as well as having one of the largest nationwide Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) programs.  The new location will give patients in southern New Jersey as well as central New Jersey and the surrounding states of Philadelphia and Delaware, access to expertise, clinical trials and research.

“This expansion of extraordinary, personalized cancer care to HOPE Tower helps us live our mission to transform healthcare and to be the leader of positive change,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “We will continue to deliver groundbreaking care to the communities we are privileged to serve.’’

John Theurer Cancer Center at HOPE Tower now provides leukemia and adult blood and marrow stem cell transplantation services to start.  Overall, the cancer center at Hackensack University Medical Center has provided lifesaving care for more than 30 years.  With over 7500 transplants since 1990, it is one of the largest in the country. 

It will also be one of the few sites offering CAR-T cell therapy in lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma, the biggest breakthrough in cancer treatment in a generation. JTCC has been involved in CAR-T cell therapies, a one of a kind personalized immunotherapy for certain blood cancers, for almost a decade. 

“Given the rapid acceleration in cancer, this could not be a better time to bring the benefit of innovation closer to patients' homes.  Having our experts rotate at JSUMC in the Hope Tower, will bring expertise, access to trials or cell therapy, when needed across our communities in Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware,” said Andre Goy, M.D., HMH Physician in Chief in Oncology and Chairman of John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC). “Together, partnering locally with our colleagues’ oncologists, we will expand access to tertiary and quaternary care and improve our patients’ outcome across the state of New Jersey.”

The site offers comprehensive medical and surgical oncology/hematology consultative services by national experts for all types and stages of cancer and serious blood disorders. The facility provides full infusion services, genomics analysis, and access to cutting-edge clinical trials. All care will be provided in accordance with John Theurer quality standards and protocols. Internationally renowned researchers from the center will conduct specialty clinics at the location. 

“We are thrilled to bring the JTCC Adult Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program to HOPE Tower and expand access to these programs,” says Michele Donato, M.D., director of the blood and marrow transplantation program at John Theurer Cancer Center.  “We will have a full-fledged cancer center that provides compassionate, multi-disciplinary care for patients in Monmouth and Ocean counties and beyond.”

“As we bring JTCC to HOPE Tower at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, we know that our patients will have even more access to a world-renowned teaching facility that is widely recognized for its comprehensive patient care, research, and education programs,” commented Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, regional president, Southern Market, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Whether a patient needs a second opinion consultation, or is a candidate for cell therapy,  immunotherapy or novel and experimental agents, that patient can directly benefit from the expertise of some of the world’s leading experts in cancer care and research, expertise that is now available locally as well as for nearby states.”

“John Theurer Cancer Center at HOPE Tower will enable provision of world-class care to the local community while connecting patients to Centers of Excellence for multiple tumor types,” commented Thomas L. Bauer II, M.D., chair of Surgery and chief of Thoracic Surgery at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “When patients need surgery, access to those Centers of Excellence will make them more likely to undergo minimally invasive procedures, get out of the hospital faster, experience less pain and fewer complications, and return to everyday life sooner.”