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Cancer Center with CK to open Monday in Gainesville FLhttp://www.gainesville.com/article/20090624/ARTICLES/906249935/1002?Title=Cancer-Center-to-open-July-14 The Gainesville Sun June 24, 2009 Physicians and administrators at North Florida Regional Medical Center showed off their newly-constructed Cancer Center Wednesday with tours and a ribbon-cutting. The facility will open to the public on Monday. Located behind the Medical Arts Building on the east side of the NFRMC campus, the 35,000-square-foot center will offer a complete range of cancer therapies. It was built at a cost of about $18.5 million, including the equipment, according to Matt Davis, the chief operating officer. The first phase of the Cancer Center includes outpatient radiation oncology services and the Cyberknife system that delivers targeted radiation to tumors previously considered untreatable, according to Dr. Mark Perman. "This new facility lets us offer tailor-made treatment plans for each patient," Perman said. "In cancer care, one size does not fit all." Dr. Cherylle Hayes, medical director of North Florida Radiation Oncology, sees the demand for cancer care increasing as the Baby Boomer generation peaks in the next decade. "We can expect to see cancer in one of every two men and one in three women in the United States," Hayes said. "Our goal is to improve quality of life and community access to meet the growing demand." At the noon-hour ribbon cutting, Dr. Jeffrey Snyder, chairman of the NFRMC board of directors, described the new facility as "an example of what can happen with cooperation between doctors and administrators to bring a good idea to fruition." According to Perman, the NFRMC center is one of only 13 facilities in the state to offer the Cyberknife technology. He would like to see it become a regional training center in the use of the state-of-the-art equipment. Other treatment modalities in the Cancer Center include intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, and high- or low-dose brachytherapy. A nurse navigator will help guide patients through the maze of medical care options and insurance issues, Perman explained. "It used to be patients depended totally on their doctor to tell them what was right or wrong," he said. "Today, they are much more consumer-oriented. They come in with information that they have researched and have very pointed questions about potential treatment." The design of the center incorporates natural colors and materials. Lighted ceiling panels in treatment rooms feature a view of trees and blue skies at different seasons of the year. "We want to reinforce a sense of peace for the patients who come here," Perman said. Medical records will be computerized, to facilitate the transfer of information from one place to another. Patients will have Internet access on computers in the research center. Plans are already under way to expand the area by adding a medical office building connected to the Cancer Center. That building would house cancer care physicians' offices and a clinic where patients can meet with surgeons, urologists and other cancer specialists. "The goal is to help patients move seamlessly through the continuum of care," Perman said. |
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