Cancer care close to home in Bryan County and surrounding communities

The Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion’s Pembroke Infusion Center offers chemotherapy, hematology services to offer treatment closer to where you live

If you live in Pembroke, Claxton, even Vidalia, and you get diagnosed with cancer that requires chemotherapy, then there’s a location closer to home that offers the same quality of treatment you’d get in Savannah. 

The Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion with Summit Cancer Care medical oncologists has an infusion center in the heart of Pembroke.

“Every morning around 11 o’clock, the train comes by, so you can look out there while receiving  your treatment and watch the train,” says Dr. L.E. Bud Robertson, medical oncologist and president of Summit Cancer Care. “It’s one of the most beautiful medical oncology facilities in the area.”

The Pembroke Infusion Center is located at 159 West Railroad Street, Building B, next to our Pembroke Primary Care office. You can contact the center at 912-354-6187.

St. Joseph’s/Candler opened the Pembroke Infusion Center in December 2021. This allows us to offer the latest in cancer treatment to patients in Bryan County and surrounding communities who need chemotherapy, as well as other infusion services closer to home. About 60 percent of the patients being treated in Pembroke have cancer, while 40 percent have other blood disorders such as anemia, low white blood cells or bleeding disorders that can all be treated in Pembroke, Dr. Robertson says. 

The space in Pembroke is approximately 5,300 square feet and cost an estimated $2.5 million to complete. The state-of-the-art facility contains:

• 12 infusion chairs
• Three exam and procedure rooms for medical oncologists
• Pharmaceutical mixing lab for chemotherapies and other necessary infusions

The Pembroke center has a full-time dedicated staff which includes nurses. Four Summit Cancer Care physicians, including Dr. Robertson, rotate days seeing patients in Pembroke, along with a mid-level provider. Services offered at the Pembroke location include:

• Chemotherapy
• Immunotherapy
• IV Hydration/Electrolytes
• IV Iron Infusions
• Port Flushes
• Injections
• Therapeutic Phlebotomy

“We basically offer everything in Pembroke that we do in Savannah,” Dr. Robertson says. “You will still have to possibly travel to Savannah if you need a PET-CT or a biopsy, but as far as medical oncology, it’s pretty much autonomous.”

And why was it important to offer these medical oncology services in a more rural community like Pembroke?

“It’s important because honestly there are many people that don’t like driving into Savannah. There’s even a small segment of the population that says if they have to come all the way into Savannah, they just won’t do treatment. It’s only maybe five percent of the population, but it does happen,” Dr. Robertson says. 

“It can also be cumbersome to come to an office, fill out paperwork, have lab work done, see the provider and then have chemotherapy treatment for an  hour or even longer, and then on top of that you have a two-hour drive both ways,” Dr. Robertson says. “With regional cancer care, you can receive treatment and be that much closer to home.”

“It’s all about providing excellent, personalized care closer to home.”

Related Article: What is personalized cancer care?

In addition to our main campus in Savannah and the SJ/C Bluffton campus, the LCRP also has infusion centers in Liberty County (Hinesville), Wayne County (Jesup) and Bulloch County (Statesboro) that offer similar services as Pembroke. We also have a doctor’s office to see patients in Waycross. 

Related Article: Cancer care close to home in Wayne County and surrounding communities

The Pembroke Infusion Center is located at 159 West Railroad Street, Building B, next to our SJ/C Primary Care practice, which has been serving the community since 1994. You can contact the infusion center at 912-354-6187.

For more information about all our regional cancer services, visit our website.