Primary eye cancers are rare. They can occur within the eye, on the eye's surface, in the skin cells around the eye, or in your glands that produce tears. Secondary eye cancers occur more frequently. These are tumors from other parts of the body that have spread to the eye.
Ocular oncology experts at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute work to treat eye and ocular cancers from all sides: ophthalmology, dermatology, ocular oncology, radiation oncology, and pathology.
Our caring, highly skilled teams work together with a shared goal: giving you the most personalized care and best quality of life.
Why Choose Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center?
Sylvester is an NCI-designated cancer center. The National Cancer Institute has recognized Sylvester for its outstanding work conducting research in its laboratories, treating patients in its clinics and hospitals, and reaching out to medically underserved communities with innovative prevention strategies.
Multidisciplinary care teams. You’ll have your cancer evaluated and treated by a team of eye experts. They represent several specialties: ophthalmology, dermatology, ocular oncology, radiation oncology, and pathology. It adds up to personalized, well-rounded care focused on giving you an optimal quality of life.
Targeted, precise radiation therapy options. We are the only center in South Florida offering localized internal plaque radiation therapy. This treatment allows us to treat cancer without removing the eye — preserving vision, independence, and quality of life.
Leading-edge intra-arterial chemotherapy for children with retinoblastoma. Your child has twice the chance his or her eye will be spared. Using intra-arterial chemotherapy, we target chemotherapy directly to the eye tumor. This curative treatment has decreased the number of eye removals (for retinoblastoma) by half. It is also easier on developing bodies. Sylvester is the only center in the Southeastern U.S. and one of a few in the country that is highly skilled at this treatment.
Sylvester is one of only four designated Cancer Centers of Excellence in Florida. As the only center located in South Florida, you will have the comfort of knowing you are in the best possible place to treat your cancer.
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is the top-rated facility in the country for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the eye, according to U.S. News & World Report. When you choose us for your eye care, you will receive the best care in the nation in a compassionate setting.
Top-ranked eye prosthesis (artificial replacement) options. You can have more confidence and better health after cancer. If your eyeball must be removed to cure your cancer, a prosthetic eye improves your appearance and protects the space and cells behind your eye. We custom design your prosthesis to match the iris and pupil of your other eye.
A history of firsts. We were the first center in the country to use topical interferon drops to treat eye cancer – without biopsy or surgery. This and many other research advances ensure you the best possible cancer and eye care.
Safer, more accurate diagnosis. Sylvester and Bascom Palmer offer ultra-high frequency OCT (optical coherence tomography). This optical ultrasound diagnoses melanomas and inner eyelid (conjunctival) tumors without biopsy or radiation.