About Dartmouth Cancer Center

Dartmouth Cancer Center is a Press Ganey 2023 HX Pinnacle of Excellence Award® recipient for human experience in medical practice, maintaining consistently high levels of excellence over consecutive years. Learn more about Press Ganey's Award Program.

Dartmouth Cancer Center is one of the nation's premier facilities for cancer treatment and research. It is one of only 56 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. For more details about us, refer to our Fact Sheet (PDF).

We provide a positive environment for treatment, cure, and recovery for patients with all forms of cancer. Our patients receive technologically advanced cancer treatments and access to clinical trials of new treatments. Each patient is seen as an individual, which means our specialists develop a specific treatment plan and then work directly with the patient, their family, and the referring physician to implement care. We are also a proud leader in improving the comfort and quality of life of patients.

Investigation and discovery

About 250 active research projects are part of our quest to cure cancer, understand its causes, and promote ways to prevent cancer before it starts. These projects are led by 135 cancer research scientists supported by more than $68 million in grants each year from federal and other sources.

Dartmouth Cancer Center is a world leader in cancer prevention and control research, seeking to identify nutritional, environmental, and lifestyle factors that may cause cancer. We help patients understand their cancer risk and work to prevent cancer-causing behaviors, such as tobacco use by children.

In concert with this research, our scientists are developing new drugs to stop cancers in the very earliest stages of growth. Our search for more effective ways to diagnose breast cancer includes devising new screening technologies. A growing area of research is directed at improving the quality of life for people with cancer.

Cancer treatment

We coordinate all cancer care at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, providing patients with a full range of treatment options. We strive to bring care as close to your home as possible, working with your personal physicians and local specialists to make appropriate therapy available throughout the region. We work closely with doctors and nurses at regional centers in Keene, Manchester, and Nashua, NH, and in St. Johnsbury, VT, as well as at member hospitals in northern New England to coordinate patient referral, treatment, and education.

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Cancer Center entrance
Dartmouth Cancer Center's location at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.

Care at the Cancer Center is coordinated through multidisciplinary clinical oncology teams. Each team brings together physicians, specialty nurses, and other professionals who evaluate individual cases and set standards for treatment. The teams pay particular attention to preventing disfigurement, controlling symptoms, eliminating pain, and coping with the emotional distress caused by cancer.