When Karen Uricoli learned she had a tumor near her pancreas, the 63-year-old Wilmington woman feared she was facing another long, uncertain cancer journey. A 13-year breast cancer survivor, she’d been through it once already.
Instead, she found something she didn’t expect at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute: a less-invasive surgical option that had only just arrived in Delaware. In November 2025, Uricoli became one of the first patients in the state to undergo a robotic Whipple procedure, one of the most complex operations in cancer surgery. Two weeks later, she was well enough to begin chemotherapy, followed by immunotherapy. Today, she’s back at work full-time.
“I feel energetic again, basically back to my normal life,” she said.
Uricoli’s experience is one example of what’s happening every day at the Graham Cancer Center, where Delawareans are getting access to treatments and technologies that not long ago would have meant traveling to Philadelphia, Baltimore or beyond. From new surgical capabilities to national clinical trials to a new cancer care hub opening south of the C&D Canal, the Graham Cancer Center has demonstrated that Delaware patients no longer need to leave home for advanced cancer care.
“Cancer care works best when it’s carefully coordinated, and that’s hard to do when patients are piecing together treatment across state lines,” said Thomas Schwaab, M.D., Ph.D., who is the Bank of America Endowed Medical Director of the Graham Cancer Center. “Everything we’re building here, the technology, the research clinical trials, the team, is designed to keep that coordination intact and keep patients connected to the people who love them.”
A new frontier in cancer surgery
The robotic Whipple is a case in point. Traditionally performed as open surgery, the Whipple removes tumors from the pancreas and surrounding structures, then reconnects the digestive system so it can function properly.
Graham Cancer Center surgical oncologists Arvind Sabesan, M.D., and Brendan Hagerty, M.D., began offering it robotically in October 2025, putting ChristianaCare among the first programs in the region to do so. The smaller incisions can mean less pain, faster recovery and, critically for cancer patients, a quicker transition to chemotherapy or follow-up treatment.
“With the robotic Whipple, we’re helping people in the community move on with their lives as quickly as possible,” Sabesan said.
For Uricoli, the clinical expertise of her surgical team was matched by the personal connection she found at the Graham Center. Rather than facing the stress of out-of-state travel, she found a partnership that prioritized both her physical recovery and her emotional well-being.
Radiation that adapts in real time
An emphasis on precision is also driving Delaware’s first adaptive radiation therapy program at the Graham Cancer Center. Built around the Varian Ethos system, adaptive radiation uses daily imaging and artificial intelligence to rebuild a patient’s treatment plan before every session, accounting for how tumors and nearby organs shift from day to day. It’s especially valuable for cancers in the pelvis and abdomen, and it can sometimes deliver higher doses in as few as five sessions.
ChristianaCare was among the first centers in the country to enroll patients in two National Cancer Institute–funded trials using the technology, one for advanced pancreatic cancer and another for bladder cancer.
A research powerhouse
Those national trials are part of a broader research footprint that puts the Graham Cancer Center in rare company. Nearly one in three patients at the center takes part in a clinical trial, a participation rate seven times the national average. In 2024, the cancer center enrolled more than 1,100 patients across 110 trials, earning the NCI’s Gold Award for Exceptional Achievement. It’s one of only 20 centers nationwide commended by ECOG-ACRIN for clinical research performance.
A high level of participation in clinical trials matters, because it gives Delaware patients early access to treatments that haven’t yet reached standard practice.
“By enrolling in cancer research, our patients have access to the latest medical breakthroughs and simultaneously help build insights that will extend survival and enhance well-being for patients with cancer in the future,” Schwaab said.
Rethinking lung care
The Graham Center’s investment in advanced technology extends to its thoracic surgery and interventional pulmonology program, which treats complex conditions of the lung, esophagus, chest, and mediastinum (the space between the lungs that contains the heart and other structures).
ChristianaCare’s thoracic surgeons perform more da Vinci robotic-assisted and video-assisted thoracoscopic procedures than any other program in Delaware, handling robotic and minimally invasive operations for lung, esophageal and thymic cancers, as well as lobectomy, segmentectomy, and hiatal hernia repair.
The program is also the only place in Delaware offering endobronchial lung volume reduction, a nonsurgical valve-placement procedure for severe emphysema that helps patients breathe easier almost immediately.
On the pulmonology side, the interventional team led by Ismael Matus, M.D., is among the nation’s highest-volume programs and is publishing research that’s changing how lung conditions are diagnosed and treated. Recent peer-reviewed studies from the team introduced a thoracic ultrasound protocol that safely replaces routine post-biopsy chest X-rays in most cases; a real-time imaging technique that confirms biopsy sample adequacy on the spot; and a multidisciplinary pathway for malignant pleural effusion that cut ER visits and hospital stays by more than half.
The team also partners with Philadelphia’s Wistar Institute on translational research designed to move new discoveries from the lab to patient care.
Cancer care south of the canal
In May 2027, ChristianaCare will open the Middletown Health Center, an 87,000-square-foot, $92.3 million facility that will bring to one of Delaware’s fastest-growing communities the Graham Cancer Center’s multidisciplinary services, including medical, surgical and radiation oncology, infusion services, nurse navigation, and clinical trial access. It’s part of ChristianaCare’s broader $865 million investment in Delaware over three years.
Middletown’s population has grown more than 550% since 1990, and cancer care demand in the region is projected to rise 11% over the next decade. By expanding services in Middletown, ChristianaCare is responding to both the region’s population growth and the increasing need for cancer care. The new site will help patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment while reducing travel time and improving coordination with the full Graham Cancer Center team.
“As our community grows, so too does the need for locally accessible, state-of-the-art cancer services,” said Schwaab. “This expansion represents a pivotal investment in the health of the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend corridor and beyond.”
Schedule an appointment or learn more about the Graham Cancer Center.
