State-of-the-art cancer treament center to open downtown

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A new cancer treatment center will soon be coming to downtown Phoenix.

The center is a joint effort by two leading names in medicine and promises to set the standard in extraordinary cancer care.

"The University of Arizona, about five to six years ago, decided that they needed a partner in Phoenix and so St. Joseph's and the university picked each other," Marcia Gruber of the University of Arizona Cancer Center said.

The result of the partnership is a state-of-the-art out patient cancer treatment center and focuses on what's best for the patient, according to Deputy Director Dr. Peter Lance.

"Everything that we do is based on what we call a multi-disciplinary team approach, so there are about eight or 10 different teams," he said.

Designed with the patients help, the center aims to make those who visit to feel at ease. The treatment bays where patients receive chemotherapy or blood transfusions are semi-private.

There are 70 exam rooms, with the latest technology in radiation, as well as a healing garden.

Endoscopy rooms and space for clinical research, which Phoenix Mayor Greg Stantion says will attract people, not just from all over the U.S., but all over the world.

"From a city perspective in terms of what they're trying to do with our economy, locally cutting edge research and treatment is exactly where we want to be and that's exactly what this presents," he said.

The five-story, 220,000 square-foot facility located downtown, is one of 41 designated by the National Cancer Institute, and along with the care those behind it hope to provide for the future.

"We know cancer patients, depending on type of cancer you have, have 70 percent later long term side effects and so we're going to have the resources here to help them obtain their new quality of life,"

The treatment center opens to patients on Aug. 24.