Kauai Oncology Patients Love Their Dr. Denny

4/27/07

Aileen E. Denny, MD, board certified oncologist, is a healer in the true sense of the word. She is a physician with a love for music and compassion for her patients. In addition to being a full-time, private practice oncologist, she is also a songwriter and musician and has produced several CDs. “The songs I write are of hope and encouragement,” she said.
 
Dr. Denny is presently an Oahu-based cancer specialist who flies to Kauai each week to provide care for oncology patients at the Kauai Medical Clinic.
“I love my patients on Kauai,” she said. “I have been seeing patients on Kauai part-time since September of last year. I am happy to give them access to the care that they need, and I like being a part of their cancer care.”

 
Although Dr. Denny was born and raised in Hawaii, she spent over 30 years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she had a private practice. “I came back to Hawaii in 1998 to be with my mother after my father died of cancer,” said Dr. Denny.
 
A single mother of two children, one of whom lives at home with her, she has a private practice at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi on Oahu. While Kauai Medical Clinic continues to recruit for a full-time oncologist, Dr.
Denny is one of several visiting oncologists seeing Kauai patients at Kauai Medical Clinic. When asked why she chose oncology as a specialty she said, “I was drawn to the field by my deep compassion for the needs of patients dealing with cancer. I offer my patients compassionate clinical care as well as the option of healing prayers and music.”
“I like that I can do follow up care here on Kauai. The patients are wonderful and the chemotherapy nursing staff is top notch. It is such a joy to spend a few days a week on Kauai.”
 
In addition to Dr. Denny, other visiting oncologists are from Straub Clinic and & Hospital. Drs. Galen Choy, Randall Liu and Ruben Guerrero round out the schedule so that patients can be seen and receive treatment here at home.
 
Kauai Medical Clinic oncology nurse Mickey McMillan, RN, has been helping patients with their chemotherapy treatment at the Clinic for the past two years. “As a nurse caring for patients who receive chemotherapy treatment, I am very thankful for the coverage provided by Dr. Denny and our Straub oncologists. Because of their visits to Kauai, very few patients have had their chemotherapy schedule interrupted.” When patients need to travel to Oahu for special procedures, the staff at KMC help coordinate the care.
“Because we are sister hospitals, we take care of each others’ patients. If our patients need to go to Straub, we coordinate treatment to accommodate them, and the feedback from patients is very positive,” she said.
 
Kauai Medical Clinic has been recruiting for an oncologist for a year now and is using the assistance of a national physician search firm to find and hire an oncologist for the Clinic. However, because of the nationwide shortage of oncologists and the preference of most oncologists to work in group practices or in settings where they can team and collaborate with other cancer specialists, recruiting an experienced, independent oncologist to Kauai continues to be a challenge.

All of the neighbor islands face the same challenge in recruiting and retaining board certified medical oncologists. “Our efforts to recruit an oncologist to Kauai continue, and in the meantime, cancer patients here receive accessible and excellent care without having to leave the island,” said Thomas Williamson, MD and chair of the KMC Board of Directors, as well as family practice physician at the KMC Eleele office. “We have four days of chemotherapy and physician visits each week. Although when compared to other communities our size, this is viewed as excellent coverage, we are not satisfied. We are committed to continue to improve cancer care on Kauai and we are thankful in the meantime that our patients are benefiting from the experience and skills of visiting local cancer specialists that include Dr. Denny and the Straub oncologists.”