Cancer center

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

‘Cats aim to continue conference success State lottery vice president resigns Harding Academy hopes to reach 3-0 in conference play this week as the team hosts Barton on Friday. — Page 1B

A vice president of Arkansas’ lottery has resigned after a series of complaints about management. — Page 2A

Local home sales up since 2010

White County property values also rising

By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com Despite a national drop in homes sales, White County has seen an increase in home sales, according to a report from the Arkansas Realtors Association.

The ARA reports that White County has seen a 26.7 percent

White County Home sales n County up 27 percent compared to August 2010 n Property value up 32 percent compared to August 2010 n Several subdivisions developing around county

increase in home sales as compared to August 2010. During that time, only 56 homes were sold in White County, while 71 were sold in August 2011.

Searcy Board of Realtors President Sherry Conley Roberson said that while this is good news, homes are not selling as fast as they once were.

“Home sales have been pretty level since this time last year, but it’s still slow,” Roberson said.

“The oil and gas industry in the area has helped us maintain.”

The values and prices of new and existing homes in White County have also increased since this time last year, according to the

figures from the ARA. The value of a new home has increased 32 percent since August 2010 and the price of a new home has increased 4.2 percent.

The average price of a home in August was $146,698, while in August 2010 it was $140,713. The average value of a home in August was $10.4 million while in August 2010 it was only $7.8 million.

Continued on Page 3A

Get Down Downtown event draws nearly 20K

Free kids area draws families to event

What: Grand opening When: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday Where: 415 Rodgers Drive, Searcy

Cancer Center opens Sunday Facility combines 4 offices of cancer treatment

By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com When it comes to diagnosing and treating cancer, time is of the essence.

Patients need to get their treatment as soon as possible, which can often be difficult when the latest technology is not readily available.

For residents in White County and six surrounding counties, some of the best cancer treatment technology is now available at the Cancer Center of Excellence in Searcy.

The center is already servicing patients, and will hold its grand opening on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. First Lady Ginger Beebe is expected to attend the ceremony. After the short ceremony, tours of the facility will be available and refreshments will be served.

The Cancer Center of Excellence combines four separate cancer-treating clinics into one large, welcoming facility. White County Oncology, Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute, White County Medical Center and Radiology Associates, P.A. are now under the same roof.

W

By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com ith the temperatures barely making it out of the 70s over the weekend, Searcy residents and those outside the area were inclined to spend the weekend at the Get Down Downtown festival.

The two-day festival started on Friday evening with a performance by Elvis tribute artist Cody Slaughter and concluded on Saturday night with a performance by Doug Stone.

Main Street Searcy Executive Director Amy Burton, who helped coordinate the event, said the turnout this year seemed as big as last year, but the food vendors told a different story.

“We estimate we had about 20,000 people at the festival, which is about the same as last year,” Burton said. “But our food vendors said they actually had higher food sales than last year. One of our food vendors said he brought 175 pounds of meat and he went through all of it.”

Burton said it’s difficult to get an exact number of attendees because the festival does not sell tickets to any of the events.

Those attending the festival were able to see more than 75 local businesses and vendors around the square.

“We have a lot of people that we have come to expect to see every year, but we also had a lot of first-time attendees,” Burton said. “People are learning that the end of September is ‘Get Down Downtown’ weekend.”

Burton said organizers did see a lower attendance on Saturday morning during the Razorbacks game . Those at the festival were able to see the game on a jumbotron, made possible by BHP Billiton.

“The jumbotron was a hit,” she said. “It was just nice to have the games going all day, especially to have the Razorback game being played. We got a lot of positive feed back about that.

“Someone told me, ‘It makes us look big time.”

Another attraction at the festival was the free kids area, which had inflatables, a train ride, face painting, concerts and much more.

Continued on Page 3A

2 small earthquakes recorded in central Ark.

Above: Ritchie Varnell plays along with Steve Tidwell on Saturday afternoon at the end of Spring Street in downtown Searcy, one of the many performers during the Get Down Downtown festival. Varnell played again that evening with Doug Stone.

Left: With their bags in hand, Zoe Grace Smith, 4, left, and her friend Marissa Moore, 4, walk through the festivities at Get Down Downtown in Searcy on Saturday morning, with their mothers following closely behind.

Photos by Molly M. Fleming/ mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Continued on Page 2A

WEATHER

Today: Sunny. Highs around 80. Southeast winds 5 mph.

Tonight: Clear. Lows in the lower 50s. East winds 5 mph.

Vol. 157, No. 238 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

Cancer Center of Excellence

INDEX NATION & STATE, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5A CALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6A SPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B

“

The Associated Press QUITMAN — The U.S. Geological Survey reports two small earthquakes have been recorded along the CleburneFaulkner county line in central Arkansas.

The Faulkner and Cleburne County sheriff's offices say no injuries or damage have been reported.

The U.S.G.S. says the first quake had a preliminary magnitude of 2.9 and was recorded at 8:33 p.m. Sunday about two miles west of Quitman. The second was recorded at 8:56 p.m. Sunday with a preliminary magnitude of 2.4 and was centered about three miles southwest of Quitman.

The area is about 45 miles north of Little Rock. Geologists say earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are generally the smallest felt by humans.

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost Poet, 1874-1963

Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277

”

The Daily Citizen

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 • Page 3A

Local

Excellence: Cancer Center of Excellence in Searcy to hold grand opening Sunday

Continued from Page 1A

“We have had such a positive response from the community about all of these clinics being together,” said Carrie Foster, office coordinator for White County Oncology. “We all really work well together, so it’s better for the patient.

They aren’t having to drive around to various appointments anymore. We are all in one place.”

CARTI was already established when the Center of Excellence was built; therefore, the center just added an extension to CARTI so patients could walk from their appointments at White County Oncology to CARTI, or vice versa.

Since CARTI was being added to a new facility, the decided was made to get a complete makeover of the existing building. A new True Beam Accelerator was purchased, which will allow for a more precise radiation treatment.

“The True Beam Accelerator will shoot the radiation beam to the exact spot where the cancerous cells are located,” said Harry Henry of Varian Medical Systems, who is installing and programming the machine. “With this machine, there will be less of an impact on healthy tissue because the radiation is so exact.

“This machine allows for X-ray radiation with laser precise accuracy. Because the radiation is less impactful on the healthy tissue, the treatment is not as strenuous on the patient.”

On the other side of the Cancer Center of Excellence, White County Oncology has its own new machine that will help with cancer treatment. For the first time in the clinic’s history, it now has its own Positron Emission Tomography machine, also known as a PET scanner. In the past, the clinic only had access to a portable machine that was in the area weekly.

Now, the machine can be used whenever needed.

Patients who will be on the PET scan are first injected with a radioactive labeled glucose, which quickly travels in the body to fast-growing cells.

“Using the PET machine, we can find out where cells might pick up the glucose and we will know where the cancer cells might be,” said Dr. Ryan Koch, oncologist. “We can also use the PET scan to help determine how a patient is responding to treatments and if they will need surgery or if we need to go another route.”

Another first for the oncology team is access to its own in-house laboratory. In the past, the lab tests were all sent to the hospital, and then sent back to White County Oncology.

“The doctors love getting the results back a lot faster,” said Sandra Shipley, lab technician.

Faster results mean the ability to quickly diagnose patients and ease their worries sooner; which was a top priority when plans were being developed for the center.

“We really wanted to make sure the patients were comfortable while they are here,” said Cassandra Feltrop with the White County Medical Center Foundation.

One area where the comfort of patients is immediately seen is in the chemotherapy treatment facility.

The room has 24 chairs for chemo treatment, which is 10 more chairs than the hospital had in the past. There are also two private rooms for treatment in case a patient is feeling ill while receiving treatment.

Each chair is surrounded by a dividing curtain to allow for privacy. There are also drop-down television screens at each chair, and an adjacent chair for a caregiver.

The whole room is surrounded by windows where patients can look outside and see a garden with a rock fountain. Much of the rest of the building has numerous windows that allow for plenty of natural light.

“I think the natural lighting adds to the openness of the center and it aides in the treatment of the patients,” Koch said. “Everything looks clean and bright. The natural lighting helps give the patients comfort and hope.”

Harry Henry of Varian Medical Systems points out the abilities of the new True Beam Accelerator at CARTI in Searcy.

The machine will allow for a more exact treatment of radiation on cancer cells by shaping the beam of radiation therapy to the exact cancerous area, thus causing less impact on healthy tissue. Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com Another priority at the center is the caregivers.

The center has a cafe area where caregivers have access to free Wi-Fi and contemporary, comfortable furniture, as well as a television. There are plenty of TVs in other waiting rooms to keep caregivers occupied while waiting for patients.

“That was another one of our goals with the center,” Feltrop said. “We not only wanted to take care of the patient, we also wanted to treat the caregiver.”

In the past, some caregivers have spent their time waiting for patients by making new friends.

“People bond here,” Foster said. “The caregivers sit and talk and become friends for life.”

Other rooms throughout the PET Scan Technician Tina McGhee adjusts the bed on the new permanent PET scan facility include a large confer- machine at the Cancer Center of Excellence. Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com ence room, a chapel, a counseling area, and an appearance area, where patients can get outfitted with wigs or handknitted caps.

All these additional rooms and new technology, plus the staff of doctors and nurses, will make cancer treatment a process that is better than it has been in the past.

“We feel that the treatment will be better tolerated because patients will be more comfortable during their treatments,” Koch said. “If the patients are more willing to get their treatments, then better outcomes will follow.”

Above: At the new Cancer Center of Excellence, patients will be able to receive their chemotherapy treatment while viewing the garden area outside.

There are also televisions at each chair, as well as additional seating for caregivers.

Above: White County Oncology Laboratory Technician Sandra Shipley works in the laboratory at the Cancer Center of Excellence. The center is already servicing patients, and will hold its grand opening on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. Molly M. Fleming/

Right: Patients at the center will have a special room where they can look at wigs and knitted hats.

mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@ thedailycitizen.com

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Homes: Local home sales up since ‘10

Continued from Page 1A

Roberson said she has noticed that buyers are more cautious about purchasing a home, despite the “great” interest rate.

“It’s tougher to get financing these days,” Roberson said.

“Banks are getting stricter on financing, so its harder for people to qualify for loans.”

Roberson said she speculates the heat of the summer had some effect on home sales. The July figures from the ARA reflect that idea, with White County home sales only increasing 6.15 percent from July 2010. The average price of a home this year in July actually dropped 1.31 percent from July 2010, though the value of homes increased from the same time the previous year.

Across the country, home sales declined 1.2 percent from July to August, but the lower August number is still higher than last year’s figures, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR reports that August saw a 7.7 percent increase in home sales compared to August 2010.

The Northeast posted the largest decrease in month-tomonth home sales, while the South was the only region to see an increase in sales, reports the NAR. Roberson said she has seen a number of homes sold in the new subdivisions in Searcy, including areas such as Saddlebrook, Club West, and even toward Kensett.

She said most home buyers are either first time buyers or young families.

“I’m just proud to be a part of White County because we are still a growing county, especially in the Searcy area,” Roberson said. “The banks, appraisers and realtors all work together as a unit and I think that has helped our home sales stay up.”

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