Cascade Healthcare Community announces plans to create an integrated, comprehensive cancer center
Bend, OR – Cascade Healthcare Community announced today plans to build an integrated, comprehensive cancer treatment center that will bring cancer detection and screening, imaging, radiation oncology, medical oncology, survivorship and support resources to one new facility in Central Oregon.
One in two men and one in three women will develop cancer in their lifetimes, and nearly 20,000 Oregon residents—1,100 of whom live in Central Oregon alone—will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Cancer diagnoses in Central Oregon have increased 26 percent in the past seven years.
Todd Taylor, chairman of CHC’s board of directors, shared his enthusiasm about the new development. "We currently have world-class cancer treatment services in our communities, but they are fragmented across multiple offices and towns. The time is now for our region to have one center for integrated cancer treatment needs,” Taylor said. “Our residents will no longer have to visit multiple locations to receive comprehensive, state-of-the-art care.”
CHC’s current cancer treatment services include screening and detection, imaging, radiation oncology, surgery, support groups and inpatient infusion services. In the new center, these services will be combined under one roof, with the addition of medical oncology (chemotherapy and infusion), expanded survivorship programs, greater clinical research opportunities and support in end-of-life care. According to Peggy Carey, the director of the existing St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center, the new facility will also offer additional resources for area physicians and clinical researchers to work together on cancer treatment research.
“Unfortunately, the typical cancer patient’s experience currently involves moving from provider to provider, most often with little coordination in navigating all of our region’s services,” Carey said. “This can lead to confusion, frustration and delays at a time of emotional and physical distress for the patient and their family. The residents of Central and Eastern Oregon deserve better.”
Dr. Linyee Chang, a radiation oncologist with the St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center, is eager to see the area’s resources coming together under one roof to benefit patient care. “The quality indicators that measure our clinical care are superb. However, the ease of serving patients and families could be improved. Our dream is to have all clinical services under one roof so that patients receive the benefit of our clinical expertise and our support programs in one location,” said Chang.
There are benefits for other area cancer treatment providers, as well. When asked for his reaction to a new integrated cancer center, Dr. Rod Buzzas, a surgeon with Advanced Specialty Care, echoed Dr. Chang’s excitement about the new center, “"Having a single facility where the disease and the person can receive treatment and support in a relatively seamless and expeditious fashion takes us to the next level. I see it as a great benefit for our medical community in that it allows us to focus on the patient, not the logistics of where the patient needs to go next.”
Planning is underway to solidify the details of the new center, including the location, size and cost. “We realize we are in the early stages of this project and there are a lot of unknowns, but we want to share CHC’s plans with the public so our residents, physicians and caregivers know what the future holds,” said James A. Diegel, FACHE, president and CEO of Cascade Healthcare Community. “For our physicians and staff who are committed to providing and advancing cancer care, it will mean more resources, more opportunities to share discoveries and knowledge, and easier access for their patients to the latest cancer treatments. For the communities we serve, we want them to know we are committed to providing a healing health care environment that supports the mind, body, and spirit. To do this, we intend to coordinate cancer treatment providers to produce an integrated approach to early screening, detection, treatment and support.”
CHC will share details and plans with the public as they are further developed.