Caring River Cancer Center physician owners and staff have compassionately served the Natchez community for 20-plus years. We are pleased to announce that Caring River Cancer Center recently merged with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Over the last few years, I have rotated in as a radiation oncologist at the facility and have always been impressed with the level of compassion and quality available at this location.

I’m proud to share that my wife, Susan, and I have relocated to this area and I am permanently practicing radiation oncology at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Natchez.

A study recently published by the American Cancer Society shows a substantial decline in deaths from cancer in the past 25 years.

In Mississippi, we have seen a 15 percent decline in cancer deaths for both men and women since the 1990s.

This decline represents improvements made across cancer-related disciplines, including radiation oncology. We, however, recognize there is still much work to do.

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s team of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, nursing and other support staff members remain on the cusp of emerging treatments and clinical trials.

Additionally, its Prevention on the Go program travels via its mobile medical unit providing prevention, education and early detection screenings.

Since this program began in 2002, the Cancer Center has screened more than

87,000 people and detected 636 cancers in Louisiana.

These resources and others will soon be made available here in Natchez. The staff that many of you have come to know and love at Caring River are still at the Cancer Center doing what they do best — caring for family, friends and neighbors as Mary Bird Perkins team members.

A cornerstone of Mary Bird Perkins’ nearly 50 years of advancing oncology care has been the community’s involvement and support of its mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer.

We invite individuals, businesses and others to get involved in the fight against cancer and to join us in our mission. You are a critical element to progressing cancer care for your friends, family and loved ones.

For more information on Mary Bird Perkins, visit marybird.org.

Gregory Cotter, MD,

Natchez resident