With decades of healthcare experience in Baton Rouge, Bonnecaze is well-known and highly-regarded in the Capital Region. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. He earned his medical degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. Through the American Board of Internal Medicine, he has earned certifications in Internal Medicine, Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Bonnecaze is currently a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
“We are so excited to welcome Dr. Bonnecaze to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center,” said Jonas Fontenot, Ph.D., MBA, chief operating officer and Dr. Charles M. Smith chief of physics. “We know that living with cancer can impact a patient’s quality of life and make accomplishing even the most routine daily activities challenging. Our Supportive and Palliative Care Clinic provides a wide range of support services designed with each patient’s specific needs in mind. Bonnecaze and his talented team will work to ensure every patient within our network has the support and resources they need in their fight against cancer.”
Palliative care is compassionate specialized medical care that focuses on providing relief from symptoms and stress due to cancer or other serious illness. Palliative medicine is different from hospice care in that care can be delivered irrespective of prognosis, stage of illness and during curative treatments.
“Triumphing over cancer requires strength of body, mind and spirit,” said Fontenot. “Studies have shown that when patients enroll in palliative care at an early stage, they tend to have better outcomes. Providing this specialized care helps us succeed in our mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer.”
Working with Bonnecaze will be Cyndi Miller, nurse practitioner, who is certified in palliative and hospice care with years of experience in oncology nursing. Miller previously worked at Mary Bird Perkins and has returned to work in this highly-specialized role.
“Our palliative care team focuses on the patient and not the disease,” said Bonnecaze. “We work closely with each patient’s oncologist and care team in an effort to achieve the best quality of life while also considering the uniqueness of each patient and their family.”
Through the Supportive and Palliative Care Clinic, Mary Bird Perkins patients can access a full range of services, including: pain and symptom management, spiritual support, social issue assistance, advance care planning, caregiver support, complex decision-making guidance, care coordination, planning assistance and more.
To learn more about the Supportive and Palliative Care Clinic, visit marybird.org or call (225) 215-0220.
About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for more than 50 years. The cancer care organization provides care at eight centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma, Gonzales and Natchez, Mississippi, and its service area encompasses southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi regions. Mary Bird Perkins has a strategic partnership with OneOncology and the largest radiation and medical oncology groups from across the area including exclusive partnerships with Southeastern Louisiana Radiation Oncology Group, which provides radiation therapy throughout Mary Bird Perkins’ service areas, Northshore Oncology Associates, serving St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, specifically the communities of Covington and Slidell and Louisiana Hematology Oncology Associates, which services the Greater Baton Rouge area. For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.