You or someone you know has been diagnosed with cancer. Allina Health cancer care is here to help. We believe that the care we provide is as unique as the patients and families we serve. The life of every individual we encounter is defined by many experiences.
Cancer is just one of them.
We know that staying close to home when possible is an important and necessary part of the healing journey. Across our wide network, teams of highly specialized caregivers come together to offer timely, coordinated and expert cancer care.
Cancer is never easy and health care can be complicated. At Allina Health, we’ll will meet you where you’re at, show up for all of you (not just your diagnosis) and expertly guide and care for you from diagnosis through recovery.
Here you’ll find:
The High Risk Breast Cancer Program is here to help you understand your risk of developing breast cancer and discuss prevention strategies. Our program offers a complete assessment of your breast cancer risk, individual interventions and screenings and a plan for how to reduce risks.
If you or a close relative has had cancer, you may be concerned about your risk for future cancers and wonder what you can do to reduce that risk. You may also wonder if your siblings, children or other relatives are at risk. Genetic counseling can help answer these questions.
Cancer is complex, so your care is complex, too. Allina Health provides you with a cancer care coordinator. This specially trained nurse works closely with you to help you learn about and understand your diagnosis and treatment options while also coordinating all the steps needed to make sure you receive the best possible care.
Clinical research is a key part of the cancer care offered at the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute. Doctors and research staff create and participate in advanced cancer research studies to bring new treatments to patients. They work with the entire care team to ensure our research efforts are supported in all areas.
Our approach at Allina Health emphasizes compassionate and effective care. We offer:
About us
A recognized leader
Founded at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in 1990, the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute now includes services at many other hospitals in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. This expansion reflects a commitment to provide exceptional cancer care close to home. We use standard care guidelines across our system to make sure patients receive the same quality care no matter where they are treated.
Who is Virginia Piper?
Over and over again, one of the first things people say about Virginia Piper is that she was one of the kindest people they had ever met. She radiated warmth and drew people in like a magnet. Not only did she express her care verbally, but she was there in person, helping quietly and unobtrusively, wherever there was perceived need. Hers was a charm born of genuine interest in and love for people, regardless of who they were. That trait, so central to her being, was to touch the lives of the innumerable people she encountered throughout her life, often indelibly.
For more than 25 years, Piper was an influential force in the community. She served on Northwestern Hospital's board of directors and as its board chair from 1964-1969. Her leadership continued during the merger of Abbott and Northwestern hospitals and Abbott Northwestern's merger with Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. She represented the hospital at regional planning meetings and served as an active fund-raiser with a keen interest in maintaining the excellence of medical and nursing education at the hospital.
The Virginia Piper Cancer Institute bears her name because, following her death from cancer in 1988, her family and friends wished to honor her and make a difference in the lives of future generations.