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Expert Gastrointestinal Cancer Care at Providence Saint John’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Center

At Providence, we know that a gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis can be scary. It can be hard to know who to turn to for help. Our best-in-class providers and support team are experts in gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancer treatment and care. The GI Oncology Center at Saint John’s provides an unmatched range of comprehensive services and cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery to remove any tumors and cancerous tissue, all in a comfortable and enriching environment. We also offer access to appropriate new therapies and clinical trials, so that you get the most advanced treatment plan possible.

2121 Santa Monica Blvd, Ground Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404
1988.0 miles away
844-510-4325

Expert Gastrointestinal Cancer Care at Providence Saint John’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Center

At Providence, we know that a gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis can be scary. It can be hard to know who to turn to for help. Our best-in-class providers and support team are experts in gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancer treatment and care. The GI Oncology Center at Saint John’s provides an unmatched range of comprehensive services and cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery to remove any tumors and cancerous tissue, all in a comfortable and enriching environment. We also offer access to appropriate new therapies and clinical trials, so that you get the most advanced treatment plan possible.

2121 Santa Monica Blvd, Ground Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404
1988.0 miles away
844-510-4325

Personalized Treatment for Gastrointestinal Cancer

Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow. Systemic therapies include:

  • Anti-VEGF therapy
  • Biologic therapies
  • Chemoradiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Commercial clinical trials
  • Immunotherapy
  • Molecularly targeted therapy
  • Somatostatin analogues

Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan. Surgical therapies include:

  • Abdominoperineal resection
  • Appendectomy
  • Coloanal anastomosis using total mesorectal excision (TME)
  • Distal gastrectomy
  • Endoscopic ultrasound staging (EUS)
  • Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery
  • Open gallbladder surgery
  • Robotic gallbladder surgery
  • Subtotal or total gastrectomy
  • Irreversible electroporation of the pancreas
  • Laparoscopic and open ablation
  • Partial, hemi or extended laparoscopic liver resection
  • Liver ablation
  • Open esophageal surgery
  • Laparoscopic pancreatectomy
  • Open pancreatectomy
  • Total pancreatectomy
  • Regional nodal dissection
  • Neuroendocrine resection
  • Robotic abdominal perineal resection
  • Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM)
  • Transanal excision
  • Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS)
  • Whipple procedure

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation is sometimes used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort. Radiation therapies include:

  • Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
  • Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)

Additional therapies may also be part of the treatment plan for a small number of patients. These may include:

  • Chemoembolization
  • Interventional radiology
  • Liver-directed therapy (TACE, SBRT, Y90, ablation)

You’ll also be provided with supportive therapies to prevent or relieve symptoms and to keep you as comfortable as possible throughout the course of your treatment.

  • Ostomy care 

Meet the Team

At Providence, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.

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Our Approach Research Cancer Supportive Services
Our Approach

Committed to improving outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) and pancreatic cancers, the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center at Providence Saint John’s offers innovative treatments and comprehensive services to patients in a comfortable and supportive environment.

Our team is committed to providing patient-centered care that treats the unique needs of each individual and their loved ones, in body, mind and spirit. This compassionate approach – as well as our leading-edge treatments – has earned us reputation for clinical excellence and award-winning care.

In addition, the center’s partnership with the Saint John’s Cancer Institute offers patients benefits from the latest medical technologies, clinical trials and research-backed procedures.

Trusted team of experts

At the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center, our multidisciplinary team of cancer professionals and GI specialists bring together the latest in cancer treatments and minimally invasive techniques. We provide empathetic and personalized cancer care to help you make the most informed decision about your treatment.

Our expert team includes:

  • Surgical oncologists
  • Medical oncologists
  • Radiation oncologists
  • Colorectal surgeons
  • Genetics counselors
  • Interventional radiologists
  • Pathologists
  • Nutritionists
  • Gastroenterologists 

Providence Saint John’s works in partnership with the Saint John’s Cancer Institute (SJCI) to conduct research and clinical trials to advance cancer prevention, diagnoses and treatments. Many physicians and surgeons caring for patients at the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center at Providence Saint John’s are also faculty and/or physicians at SJCI.

Our research efforts have helped develop emerging treatment and prevention options such as using targeted therapies to stop the growth of cancer cells. In addition, through funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the research team at Saint John’s Cancer Institute helped identify patients who are likely to be cured by surgery alone, thereby avoiding the unnecessary toxicity of chemotherapy.

Learn More

We believe that no one should have to go through their cancer journey alone. That’s why Providence Saint John’s has a comprehensive Cancer Supportive Services program to help you and your loved one. The program offers a range of services that aim to address the physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual needs of patients and their loved ones throughout the cancer journey.

Learn More

Why Choose Us for Gastrointestinal Cancer Care?

At Providence, we see the life in you. Together, let’s finish cancer – so you don’t have to miss any of life’s special moments.

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No two patients, or their treatment plans, are alike. This is why, at Providence, we take a highly personalized approach to your gastrointestinal cancer care. You’ll experience this through our multidisciplinary tumor boards, where your oncology team collaborates with other cancer care experts about your specific diagnosis. We also offer a Providence Molecular Tumor Board, where we evaluate your genomic and clinical information to find the best genetically matched treatment for you. Your oncology team will work with you directly to design a treatment plan that fits your personal needs. It’s an approach that combines leading-edge treatment with the compassionate care Providence is known for. Why? Because we know this results in the best outcomes.

As a patient, you’ll be supported through your entire cancer journey by a multidisciplinary cancer care team. You’ll be treated by board-certified medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and gastroenterologists. If surgery is required, our world-class gastrointestinal surgeons use the most advanced techniques. It’s a team-based approach to gastrointestinal cancer. Your cancer care team may also include oncology nurse navigators and other cancer specialists. We also provide you and your family with a full range of support services well beyond conventional treatment, from genetic counseling and education to nutrition and pain management.

Learn more about the experts who make up our multidisciplinary cancer care teams.

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but access to great gastrointestinal cancer care hasn’t always been the same for everyone. At Providence, we are deeply committed to making sure every patient we treat has access to the best cancer care. We offer various location-specific services to help our patients receive equitable care, such as translation for non-English-speaking patients, telehealth and transportation assistance. We value, respect and support the racial, ethnic, religious, spiritual, gender, and sexual identities of each member of our diverse communities, and we welcome all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. We aim to make sure every patient is treated equally and with dignity – whoever you are, and wherever you’re at.

As a patient at Providence, you have access to the largest community-based cancer network in the United States. Being part of a collaborative network means that your local gastrointestinal cancer care team shares knowledge and experience with other world-class clinicians across 51 hospitals in seven states. The extent and power of our network is one of the reasons thousands of gastrointestinal cancer patients, and 50,000 new cancer patients, choose Providence each year.

Providence is well known for offering options – and hope – to patients seeking the most advanced procedures and therapies to treat gastrointestinal cancer. For instance, Providence researchers are looking into the use of chemotherapy both before and after surgery for pancreatic cancer patients. As a patient, you have the opportunity to participate in one of over 70 clinical trials happening across the Providence network for gastrointestinal cancer treatment.

The Power of Our Network

Part of the Providence Cancer Institute in Los Angeles

Our patients are the center of everything we do:

  • Our unique patient navigator program offers navigators specific to each cancer type to assist you throughout your cancer journey.
  • Our beautiful, modern hospitals are equipped with the latest technologies.
  • We also offer robust research labs not found in local, community-focused hospitals.

Learn more about the Providence Cancer Institute in Los Angeles

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Senior woman looking hopeful as she gazes out window

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Research and Clinical Trials

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Recognition

U.S. News & World Report - High Performing Hospital in Colon Cancer Surgery (2024-25)