This information describes what to expect during your appointments in MSK’s outpatient Cellular Immunotherapy Unit.
About the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit
This unit is where you’ll have appointments during your outpatient stem cell transplant or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. You may also have appointments in the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit before or after your stem cell transplant or CAR T cell therapy.
The Cellular Immunotherapy Unit care team includes:
- Doctors
- Advanced practice providers (APPs), such as nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs)
- Registered nurses
- Patient care technicians
- Care coordinators
- Physical therapists
- Pharmacists
- Research Coordinators
Location
The Cellular Immunotherapy Unit is in MSK’s outpatient cellular immunotherapy infusion suite. The address is:
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at MSK
530 E. 74th St.
12th Floor
New York, NY 10021
Contact information
The Cellular Immunotherapy Unit’s phone number is 646-608-3150. You can call this number and a member of the Cellular Immunotherapy team will answer. If a care team member is not available, your call will be directed to an after-hours telephone triage nurse.
If you think you need to see a doctor right away, go to MSK’s Urgent Care Center (UCC). For more information about when to call the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit or go right to the UCC, please read the Outpatient Cellular Therapy Emergency Guide.
The UCC is on the first floor of Memorial Hospital, MSK’s main hospital. The closest entrance is at 425 E. 67th St. (between 1st and York avenues). There’s also an entrance at 1275 York Ave. (between East 67th and East 68th streets). Both entrances are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Before Your Appointments
Scheduling your appointments
Your appointment dates will be scheduled 1 to 2 weeks before each appointment. A care coordinator will schedule your appointments in clinic or over the phone. Please make sure we have the best phone number to call you.
Your appointment times will be scheduled the day before each appointment. When you’re leaving your appointments, a care coordinator will tell you your appointment time for the following day. Your appointment time will also be updated the evening before each appointment on MyMSK, our patient portal. Visit my.mskcc.org to log on to your MyMSK account. A care coordinator will call you if your appointment time changes.
Your appointment time may be different from day to day. We base the schedule on your medical needs, your treatment, and which rooms and healthcare providers are available. Please arrive at your scheduled appointment time.
Getting to and from your appointments
If you’re staying at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, an MSK shuttle will bring you to and from the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at MSK.
If you’re staying at MSK’s 75th Street Patient Residence, an MSK bus or van will bring you to and from the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at MSK.
A member of the Cellular Immunotherapy team will give you information about the shuttle schedule.
What to bring
Bring all of your normal daily medications. You may need to take them as scheduled while you’re in the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit.
You may also want to bring:
- Your cell phone and charger
- Headphones or earbuds
- Something to read
- Snacks or drinks
Refilling your medications
If you need more of one of your prescription medications, check the bottle to make sure refills are available.
- If there are refills available, call MSK’s pharmacy to have the medication ready for your next visit. They’re available at 646-608-1700 from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can pick up your medication from the pharmacy or ask to have it delivered to the Cellular Immunotherapy unit.
- If there are no refills available, tell a member of the Cellular Immunotherapy team. They will submit a new prescription to the pharmacy. Once they do, call the pharmacy to see when you can pick up your medication or have it delivered.
During Your Appointments
During each of your appointments in the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit, you will have a lab appointment followed by a treatment appointment.
Lab appointment
During your lab appointment, your blood will be drawn for testing. A Cellular Immunotherapy nurse or patient care technician will also measure your weight and vital signs. That can include yours blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate.
After your blood is drawn and vitals are measured, you will be seated in the waiting room. A care coordinator will bring you to a treatment room when it’s ready.
Treatment appointment
Once you’re in a treatment room, your nurse will ask about symptoms you’re having. Then you will get your scheduled treatment.
Other members of the Cellular Immunotherapy team will also visit you in your treatment room.
- An APP will check on you as needed.
- Your primary doctor or a covering attending (doctor who is covering for your doctor) will check on you during some of your treatment visits. If you want to know if your doctor will be seeing you, ask the care coordinator when you check in. You may be able to see your doctor’s visits on MyMSK, although the scheduled times may not be accurate.
- A pharmacist will visit you during your first treatment appointment. They will talk with you and make sure you understand all your medications. They may also visit you during some of your other appointments, if needed.
The length of your appointment depends on the exact treatment you’re getting.
Before you leave, check with a care coordinator to see if you have any more appointments for the day. You can also check your MyMSK account.
After You Finish Your Treatments
After you’re discharged from the Cellular Immunotherapy Unit, your follow-up appointments will be in your primary doctor’s regular clinic. You will still see the same doctor, but you will not see the rest of the Cellular Immunotherapy team.
If you need to reach a care team member after you finish all of your treatments, contact your doctor’s office.