It seems like there’s no one who hasn’t been touched by cancer. Whether it’s a friend, relative, coworker, or whether the patient is you, the cancer care team you choose is critical. They should leave no stone unturned when it comes to your treatment. AdventHealth knows this, too. That’s why we opened the Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in Celebration, Florida — specializing in treating difficult-to-cure cancers.
The breakthroughs you read about happen here.
Though Florida is known for fantasy and magic, what we do at the CRU is pure science. We look for cancer cures through more than 300 ongoing and earlystage clinical trials, searching for cancer treatment innovations to improve quality of life and outcomes. At the CRU, world-class doctors and researchers collaborate with patients on first-of-their-kind therapies and other new treatments unavailable elsewhere. Among other revolutionary therapies, we conduct trials using cellular therapy, monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, therapeutic oncolytic viruses and cytokines, and many others.
Care That Puts Patients First
Guided by AdventHealth’s vision to bring comfort, compassion and innovation to every person, the CRU merges cutting-edge technologies, highly trained clinicians and an atmosphere that focuses on wholeperson care.
“Cancer patients often face many hours in a treatment center,” explained Dr. Guru Sonpavde, Director, Oncology Clinical Research Unit. “We don’t believe that they should spend that time in a stark, clinical room.” Dr. Sonpavde points to the 28 airy infusion bays the CRU offers. “Bright colors, comfortable rooms and plenty of sunlight—these things matter when treating conditions holistically,” he said. “Too often, we ignore the power our environment can have on the healing process, and the CRU is changing that.”
Dr. Sonpavde is particularly proud of the personalized care the CRU offers, including clinical nurse navigators assigned to individuals to help guide them through the sometimes-complicated world of cancer treatment. “We implemented this service for every patient,” he said. “Our nurse navigator program is an innovation in itself — and it makes for a better overall experience.”
Discovering New Ways of Healing
From breast, brain and pancreatic cancers to melanomas and genitourinary malignancies, AdventHealth CRU uses groundbreaking therapies to provide patients hope for a cure.
At AdventHealth Cancer Institute, our clinicians and patients are pioneering the health care of tomorrow, and they’re working to bring those cures closer every day.
"We constantly hear about breakthroughs in cancer treatments on the news. What you might not realize is that many of these studies take place right here. This unit offers many promising treatments, including many first-in-human trials that can bring a new hope for cancer patients and their families.” — Mark A. Socinski, MD, Executive Medical Director, AdventHealth Cancer Institute