http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/jul/30/state-of-the-art-complex-debuts/
State-of-the-art complex debuts
Cancer center features cutting-edge equipment, comfy designs
By Brittany Anas (Contact)
Monday, July 30, 2007
A panel of tall windows — which look out to Boulder’s Flatirons and over a serene courtyard and fountain — are among the architectural designs meant to add comfort to a new complex for cancer patients.
Boulder Community Hospital’s newly opened, 42,000-square-foot cancer center held an open house Sunday afternoon, and the center’s medical team gave public tours. Nurses, doctors and staff members explained the center’s high-tech, cancer-fighting equipment; gave overviews of the support services available to cancer patients and their families; and talked about early detection for breast and prostate cancers, the two types that are most common in Boulder County.
The center, named the Tebo Family Medical Pavilion, houses a partnership between Boulder Community Hospital and Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers. The center is named after Boulder developer Stephen Tebo and his wife, Shari, who contributed $2 million.
More than 3,000 people donated a total of $7.4 million for the project, said Rich Sheehan, spokesman for the Boulder Community Hospital. Donations came in many forms, including jugs of pennies from a Sunday school class to personal checks from cancer survivors and their family members.
On Sunday, sunlight soaked through the large windows and into a spacious room where cancer patients will receive their chemotherapy treatments. Patients, tasked with finding the most comfortable chairs for the hospital to buy, picked out large, soft ones that have side trays.
There is wireless Internet access, and headphones so those undergoing therapy can tune into satellite radio or television programs, said Patty Harper, nursing supervisor.
Treatments can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 8 hours, Harper said, and there are two private rooms with beds and quilts for patients who need to rest. On average, treatment last for two to four hours, she said.
“Our big focus was to have a space that is quiet and calm,” said Harper, who added that the older location could become cramped and chaotic.
The center, at 4747 Arapahoe Ave., gives cancer patients in Boulder County access to state-of-the-art treatment without having to travel between clinics, hospital officials said. Plans for the center began in 2004, as the hospital sought to bring all of its cancer-related services under one roof.
“It’s state-of-the-art, really,” said Jan McOwen, an ovarian cancer survivor who is moving from Boulder to Hawaii next month. “When cancer has been part of your life, you have an incredible appreciation for a facility like this.”
Also showcased at the open house was a collection of informational books and pamphlets. Staff members will be available to help patients access subscription-based online articles and enroll them in new clinical research studies so they can receive the most modern medications, according to the hospital.
Over the past few years, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers has taken part in studies evaluating 23 of the last 29 cancer-fighting drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The new center also features high-tech machines — including a linear accelerator that has refined precision so that the amount of healthy tissue killed by radiation is minimized. In September, the center will also be receiving a new machine for breast-cancer detection that will produce more clear and accurate images of dense breast tissue, most common in young women.
There are also several services that are a part of the center — including a tranquil area where there is a small meditation garden, and rooms for patients to receive acupuncture treatments, massages and Reiki therapy. There is also access to support groups and counseling services, and patients can meet with a registered dietitian. The center is planning to add yoga and tai chi classes, as well as art and music therapy.
Another service offered by the center is a program that helps with all of the nonmedical aspects of cancer — anything from buying a wig for patients to driving them to their appointments.
“We think of cancer treatment as a journey,” Sheehan said.
The center will also be offering free Seven Levels of Healing workshops for cancer patients and their families — an educational program that addresses the spiritual and emotional aspects of navigating the journey through cancer.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at anasb@dailycamera.com
