Because Roswell Park is a comprehensive cancer center, very little of the patient care we provide is elective. The ban on elective surgeries in Erie County that goes into effect this Friday, Dec. 4, as announced by New York State, does not apply to most of the surgeries at Roswell Park.
“Cancer care is not elective,” says John M. Kane III, MD, FACS, Chair of Surgical Oncology at Roswell Park. “We’re a cancer center. We have to treat cancer. It doesn’t go away in a pandemic, just as heart attacks and heart disease and trauma don’t go away. And we have the necessary precautions in place to do it safely.”
Roswell Park surgeons will continue to perform all essential surgeries and procedures. With COVID-19 precautions in place and sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), scheduled surgeries and procedures will proceed as planned, and we will continue to treat newly diagnosed patients in a timely manner.
If you are a Roswell Park patient and have questions about any aspect of your care, please contact your Roswell Park provider for more information.
To learn all the ways we are keeping our patients and staff safe from COVID-19, watch a video about our safety protocols and read about the many precautions we have maintained throughout the pandemic.
Request an appointment
If you are not a patient but would like to know what care is currently available for you at Roswell Park, please call us at 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355). We are here for you.
More Information
To read the latest information on Roswell Park’s response to COVID-19 and find additional resources, visit our Coronavirus (COVID-19) web page.
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