The Oncology Department at the hospital is an outpatient clinic which is open five days a week to serve patients and their families who are experiencing cancer.

The staff consists of a board certified medical oncologist/hematologist and certified oncology nurses including a nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist. Together, they offer a team approach to caring for cancer patients.

Information about our oncologists James M. Nickerson, MD, Letha E. Mills, MD and Mary Chamberlin, MD, is available by linking with out Medical Staff section. (Click on any of these names for direct access.) You may also click on Agnes Mikijaniec, NP, for information on the nurse practitioner. Barbara Evans, RN, and Gloria Solar, RN, both certified oncology nurses, round out the BMH Oncology Department.

The oncology team works on behalf of the patient and family in conjunction with their primary care physician, the Visiting Nurse Alliance, Brattleboro Area Hospice, and complementary care providers. Although radiation therapy equipment is not available at BMH, we work collaboratively with the Kingsbury Center for Cancer Care in Keene, New Hampshire.

Cancer patients are offered pain and symptom management expertise, in addition to the administration of chemotherapy and other methods of treatment. The BMH surgical staff can implant chemotherapy ports. The oncology staff can provide routine port care. The oncology team also provides ongoing education and emotional support for both patients and their families. Other services include administration of blood products and medications which help increase blood counts. Clinical trials are also available.

Cancer support groups meet at the hospital monthly. (Click here for up-to-date information on meeting times, etc.) For further information about the professional and caring cancer services here at BMH, please call the Oncology Department at 257-8221.