For many cancer patients in rural South Dakota communities, getting necessary treatment can mean long, exhausting drives to providers in larger cities, and often costly overnight stays away from home—on top of the usual stress that accompanies a cancer diagnosis. However, the recent success of one cancer patient’s remote treatment program may offer the chance for others to remain close to home while connecting with providers to receive the care that they need.
Teacher Linda LaMont, diagnosed last year with Stage Three endometrial uterine cancer, resides just outside the rural town of Glenham, South Dakota. After receiving her diagnosis, she sought the best treatment possible, ultimately choosing Dr. Maria Bell, a Sioux Falls gynecologic oncologist and surgeon. The only problem for LaMont? Sioux Falls is a grueling five-hour drive away from Glenham. Dr. Bell, realizing the added strain that the lengthy trip would put on LaMont, joined forces with Dr. Richard Conklin, an oncologist in the town of Aberdeen, which, at an hour-and-a-half away from Glenham, is far closer to LaMont. Together, they came up with a treatment plan that would allow LaMont to stay nearer to her home.
Once every three weeks, LaMont visited Dr. Conklin’s offices for chemotherapy treatments. Connected via video to Dr. Bell, she would have a checkup performed by Dr. Conklin’s aides as Dr. Bell watched. For LaMont, it felt like an ordinary visit to Dr. Bell’s office: “It’s just like she’s in the room with you, but it’s via television,” she commented. Once the checkup was completed, Dr. Bell would send her orders for that day’s chemotherapy to Dr. Conklin, who would then administer the drugs to LaMont.
LaMont, now back at work and enjoying good health, was ultimately very pleased with her treatment plan. “It’s been a money saver, it’s been a time saver, and it still gets me with the doctor I started out with,” she said. Both Dr. Bell and LaMont hope to see remote care integrated into more rural patients’ cancer treatment plans. As Dr. Bell noted of telemedicine, “[It] is the future of medicine. You can get expert opinions from around the world.”
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