UVa ready to break ground on new cancer center

At the University of Virginia Medical Center, the typical cancer patient visits no fewer than 13 different sites for X-rays, chemotherapy, surgery, visits with physicians, wig fit-tings and much more.
“When you’re going through cancer, you’re tired and you don’t want to be hopping from place to place,” said Sylvia Tyree, a 58-year-old Spotsylvania County resident who was treated for breast cancer at UVa in 1991 and 1994. “One-stop shopping would be nice.”
Within two years, patients like Tyree will have a more streamlined experience at UVa while getting treatment for cancer, a disease that is the nation’s second leading cause of death.
On April 12, the UVa Health System will break ground on the 150,000-square-foot Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center at the corner of Lee Street and Jefferson Park Avenue.
The five-story building is named after the two-term Virginia senator who died after a 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer in October 2001. She was a UVa alumna and sister of CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
The center will consolidate all elements in UVa’s cancer treatment arsenal, including: a clinical trials office that will offer pa-tients the chance to try cutting-edge drugs; state-of-the-art imaging technol-ogy, allowing for real-time monitoring of a patient’s progress; and “futuristic” radiation-oncology treat-ment services, including emerging technology that can deliver precise doses of radiotherapy directly to a tumor.
“What this building does is bring all the care that a cancer patient needs under one roof,” said R. Edward Howell, vice president and CEO of the UVa Medical Center.
By combining its myriad cancer treatment offerings, UVa will join an elite group of top-tier clinical cancer facilities that have taken similar action, including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
UVa hospital already sees an average of 2,200 newly diagnosed cancer patients annually. Once its new clinical cancer is fin-ished, UVa expects that number to jump to roughly 4,000 patients. The hospital draws patients from all corners of Virginia, as well as parts of West Virginia. The next closest national cancer center is in Columbus, Ohio.
UVa’s new cancer center carries a price tag of $84 million. The state chipped in $25 million, with private donors covering most of the rest.
The building was designed to offer cancer patients “an atmosphere that is almost universally positive,” said Dr. Peyton Taylor, UVa’s associate medical director for clinical services.
Each floor will have a theme based on the different regions of Virginia. The main floor, for example, will be the Piedmont region and will feature Jeffersonian brick color and artwork of pastoral scenes by Piedmont artists. The third-floor will have a “coastal plains” theme, with Virginia artists’ depictions of beach scenes.
The building’s fifth floor will be mostly empty, providing the center with space to expand in the coming years. Over the next five or 10 years, Taylor said, cancer treatment advances are expected and the new building needs room for the advanced technology.
Positive feeling and thinking, Taylor said, can have an impact on a cancer patient’s healing. Most cancer treatments aim to “cure” cancer by targeting the malignant cells and making the patient well again. Just as important, he said, is “healing” the patient, by which he means restoring the patient’s spiritual and psychological wellness.
“It’s about healing, as well as curing,” he said.
The building will also incorporate several interior and exterior gardens to give patients and their families a quiet place for reflection.
Cancer takes a physical and psychological toll on both patients and families, said Deirdre Kelly, area manager of the American Cancer Society. The Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center, she said, appears to keep that fact in mind.
“Basically it sounds to me that they’re creating an environment that will be patient friendly,” she said. “They’re going to have a nice atmosphere and seem to be putting a lot of effort into making it as welcoming as possible for patients and their families.”
Carolyn Achenbach, who was treated for breast cancer at UVa in 1994 and 2002, served on a commit-tee that helped offer ideas for what ought to be in-cluded in the new cancer center. The overriding concept, she said, was to ensure that the facility makes the terrible experience of having cancer as easy as possible while receiving treatment.
“There was a lot of con-sideration given for the patients,” said Achenbach, an Albemarle County resident. “It will be acutely in touch with the needs and desires of patients. And that’s a big bill to fill because that includes the actual treatment, what the walls look like and whether the nurse smiles at you when you walk in.”
The new cancer center will also be an environmentally friendly facility, designed to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Among its eco-friendly features will be a rooftop garden and sustainable building materials.