March 15, 2013 – Diana Caragacianu, MD, a breast surgeon at Hallmark Health System, recently received a three-year appointment as cancer liaison for the Hallmark Health System Hematology and Oncology Center. Cancer liaison physicians are an integral part of cancer programs accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC).

Dr. Caragacianu is among a national network of more than 1,500 volunteer physicians who are responsible for providing leadership and direction to establish, maintain and support their facilities’ cancer programs. Cancer liaison physicians are responsible for evaluating, interpreting, and reporting their facilities’ performance data through the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) and facilitating quality improvement initiatives based on data findings. In addition, the cancer liaison physician is responsible for leading CoC initiatives within the cancer program and collaborating with agencies such as the American Cancer Society on behalf of the hospital. The CoC collects data from its accredited cancer programs and provides tools for these programs to facilitate analysis of patterns of diagnosis, treatment, and quality of care for patients treated at the hospital.

Dr. Caragacianu recently completed several years of advanced education and medical training in surgical oncology with a specialty in cancer-related breast surgery, endocrine malignancies and melanoma. She earned a fellowship in breast surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute and a fellowship in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Caragacianu’s primary office is located at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital and her phone number is 781-979-3840. She also has a secondary office at the Hallmark Health System Comprehensive Breast Center, Stoneham Outpatient Campus, 41 Montvale Ave., Stoneham. The phone number is 781-224-5806.