Business
New facility offers a ‘center of hope;’ it’s more like spa than clinic
By Ellen Sussman, Special to the Green Vallley News
TUCSON — Walking into the new Arizona Cancer Center Clinic at UMC North was unlike anything expected. As a cancer treatment center, one would imagine a clinical atmosphere, but that’s not what the visionaries who created this treatment center had in mind.
With a donation by Paul and Paula Fasseas, whose names are on the building, patients undergoing cancer treatment do so in an atmosphere reminiscent of a resort spa.
Director of Outreach and Education Ilya Sloan said a team from the Arizona Cancer Center toured top cancer treatment centers in the U.S. to see what they wanted to include and what they didn’t want to include.
Walking into the 82,000-square-foot building the lobby is light-filled and open; various shades of copper and warm neutrals are welcoming and refreshing and not at all clinical. A volunteer piano player is often at a baby grand providing pleasant background music.
The wife of one Green Valley patient said, “It’s never depressing.”
Located one mile north of UMC on a 17-acre parcel owned by UMC, within the next few years, a new radiation oncology department, ambulatory surgery and an imaging center will be built on the property. With scenic views of surrounding mountains, it’s where a Ronald McDonald House has been built and the American Cancer Society will be building a hospice.
“Ultimately, the entire complex will be a complete cancer-focused campus, unique in cancer care countrywide,” Sloan said.
About 3,000 new patients a year receive treatment here; the total number of annual patient visits is expected to be 58,000.
Moving from the former 10,000-square-foot treatment center to the 82,000-square-foot space ,Sloan said, means there are walking paths, garden atriums, mind-body, masseuse and salon services for patients during their often-long visits. Many of these services are provided by volunteers.
The Healing Garden Caf/ is there for light lunches, snacks and drinks; the Healing Spirit Boutique is filled with soft, comfortable and fashionable clothing.
“These amenities help to soothe overwhelmed patients… there was a very conscious effort for the interior not to have a sterile medical look and feel; every effort was made to make a long, stressful day more pleasant for patients,” Sloan said.
To help pass the time for patients and the person accompanying them there’s a bank of computers for Internet access and a reference library. For children waiting to undergo treatment or accompanying a family member receiving treatment glass-enclosed rooms complete with a TV and toys give everyone their space and need for quiet and privacy.
There is group as well as individual infusion rooms for patients receiving chemotherapy. Sloan said some patients prefer privacy; others look forward to talking with patients they’ve formed friendships with who have the same standing appointments.
There’s a full lab and pharmacy, 45 exam rooms, a staff of 150 and 35 oncology physicians who specialize in a specific form of cancer. More than half the physicians also focus on research.
“The entire staff has huge respect for patients who participate in clinical trials; it’s the second line of defense for those who don’t respond to standard therapy. Patients know it may not be the cure but they are paving the way for others,” Sloan said, adding that “targeted therapies” that don’t have the side effects of chemotherapy are the wave of the future.
Summarizing what the Arizona Cancer Care Clinic is now — and what it will be when the new facilities are completed — Sloan said, “This is a center of hope.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.
With a donation by Paul and Paula Fasseas, whose names are on the building, patients undergoing cancer treatment do so in an atmosphere reminiscent of a resort spa.
Director of Outreach and Education Ilya Sloan said a team from the Arizona Cancer Center toured top cancer treatment centers in the U.S. to see what they wanted to include and what they didn’t want to include.
Walking into the 82,000-square-foot building the lobby is light-filled and open; various shades of copper and warm neutrals are welcoming and refreshing and not at all clinical. A volunteer piano player is often at a baby grand providing pleasant background music.
The wife of one Green Valley patient said, “It’s never depressing.”
Located one mile north of UMC on a 17-acre parcel owned by UMC, within the next few years, a new radiation oncology department, ambulatory surgery and an imaging center will be built on the property. With scenic views of surrounding mountains, it’s where a Ronald McDonald House has been built and the American Cancer Society will be building a hospice.
“Ultimately, the entire complex will be a complete cancer-focused campus, unique in cancer care countrywide,” Sloan said.
About 3,000 new patients a year receive treatment here; the total number of annual patient visits is expected to be 58,000.
Moving from the former 10,000-square-foot treatment center to the 82,000-square-foot space ,Sloan said, means there are walking paths, garden atriums, mind-body, masseuse and salon services for patients during their often-long visits. Many of these services are provided by volunteers.
The Healing Garden Caf/ is there for light lunches, snacks and drinks; the Healing Spirit Boutique is filled with soft, comfortable and fashionable clothing.
“These amenities help to soothe overwhelmed patients… there was a very conscious effort for the interior not to have a sterile medical look and feel; every effort was made to make a long, stressful day more pleasant for patients,” Sloan said.
To help pass the time for patients and the person accompanying them there’s a bank of computers for Internet access and a reference library. For children waiting to undergo treatment or accompanying a family member receiving treatment glass-enclosed rooms complete with a TV and toys give everyone their space and need for quiet and privacy.
There is group as well as individual infusion rooms for patients receiving chemotherapy. Sloan said some patients prefer privacy; others look forward to talking with patients they’ve formed friendships with who have the same standing appointments.
There’s a full lab and pharmacy, 45 exam rooms, a staff of 150 and 35 oncology physicians who specialize in a specific form of cancer. More than half the physicians also focus on research.
“The entire staff has huge respect for patients who participate in clinical trials; it’s the second line of defense for those who don’t respond to standard therapy. Patients know it may not be the cure but they are paving the way for others,” Sloan said, adding that “targeted therapies” that don’t have the side effects of chemotherapy are the wave of the future.
Summarizing what the Arizona Cancer Care Clinic is now — and what it will be when the new facilities are completed — Sloan said, “This is a center of hope.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.
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