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Open House educates community about Hospital’s Regional Cancer Program and the new Stronach Regional Cancer Centre at Southlake

Newmarket, Ontario - November 13, 2008 - Cancer specialists, nurses, allied health professionals, patients, and community members gathered today to learn more about the delivery of cancer services and treatment options in York Region during an Open House at Southlake Regional Health Centre. The Open House was held to highlight the Hospital’s Regional Cancer Program and the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre, which is currently under construction on the Southlake campus and scheduled to open its doors in the Fall of 2009.  

The Stronach Regional Cancer Centre at Southlake will serve as the regionally designated radiation treatment centre for the 1.2 million people living in York Region and south Simcoe County. For the very first time in our region, residents will have access to radiation therapy closer to home, as opposed to having to travel to Toronto to receive these essential services.

The Open House was held at the Medical Arts Building at Southlake and included an interactive display of exhibits on a variety of topics, including a construction update, information on the exciting partnerships with Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and the Paediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, and the latest options in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.  

 “Today is an exciting day for us. This Open House provides us with an excellent opportunity to share information with our community about the screening, diagnostic, and treatment services that currently exist or will soon be offered through our Hospital’s Regional Cancer Program,” said Dr. Louis Balogh, Vice President, Regional Cardiac, Cancer, and Surgical Programs at Southlake. “Services that include radiation therapy, chemotherapy treatments for children and adults, and minimally invasive surgeries that are used to treat lung, breast, and many other forms of cancer.”

In addition to offering radiation therapy for the first time, patients visiting the Centre will have access to the latest research and treatment approaches through Southlake’s ongoing partnership with PMH, including:

• State-of-the-art image-guided radiation therapy technology and information systems—the current gold standard for radiation treatment worldwide.
• Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), which will provide unparalleled accuracy and precision, shortening a patient’s treatment time. This will make Southlake the first cancer centre in Ontario to be fully VMAT-enabled.
• Access to the absolute cutting edge treatment options as part of clinical trials and research.

“When the Cancer Centre opens, 5 Radiation Oncologists, 4 Radiation Physicists, and 28 Radiation Therapists will provide life-saving radiation therapy to 1,250 patients in the first year alone,” said Dr. Padraig Warde, Interim Head of Radiation Medicine at Southlake and Deputy, Head of Radiation at PMH. “This number will grow exponentially to accommodate over 52,000 new patient visits by 2012.”

To meet the needs of its patients until the Cancer Centre opens, Southlake opened its interim Radiation Oncology Clinic in May of this year. The Clinic provides treatment consultations and follow-up for its cancer patients, and facilities access for the delivery of radiation therapy at PMH. Currently, a complimentary shuttle bus service operates between Southlake and PMH for Southlake’s existing radiation therapy patients. This service will continue for the next year to help reduce the financial, emotional, and physical burden that many Southlake patients and their families face when commuting to Toronto for treatment.

The Open House was also an opportunity to shed light on Southlake’s intentions to expand the breadth and expertise of the facility.

“Today is a true reflection of how far we’ve come as a healthcare organization and how much we are capable of doing in the future,” said President and CEO Dan Carriere. “With the addition of the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre, Southlake now has a responsibility to leverage our professional expertise and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to become a university-affiliated teaching and research centre.”

For Southlake, the benefits of being an academic centre would mean:

• greater opportunities to recruit and retain new physicians, nurses, and other health professionals in the area,
• enhanced quality of care by keeping up-to-date with the advances in technology and knowledge, and
• contributing to the economic viability of northern York Region by creating new jobs and attracting new business to the area.

In many ways, the foundation for this goal has already been laid through the creation of the Family Medicine Teaching Program that will accept its first residents in July 2009. This complements the already more than 2000 student days currently being logged by Southlake’s affiliated physicians and staff, and the existing partnership with PMH that will allow Southlake to participate in a number of cancer research opportunities.

Construction on the Cancer Centre is on schedule with a target date of Fall 2009. When complete, the Centre will boast three operational radiation bunkers, an expanded 23-bed chemotherapy unit, three out-patient clinics, and designated space for clinical drug trials. With the Foundation’s $60 million fundraising campaign goal now in our sights, we are confident that the community will provide the support we need to get there.

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