LOCAL LIFE
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November 2016 | Page 5
Jordan Valley opens new cancer center By Tori La Rue | tori@mycityjournals.com
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Above: People tour the Jordan Valley Cancer Center at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Sept. 21. (Kyle Rathjen/Fuel Marketing) Right: The Jordan Valley Cancer Center’s Versa HD machine can apply conventional cancer therapies and techniques that target tumors, including advanced stereotactic radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery. (Kyle Rathjen/Fuel Marketing)
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he Jordan Valley Cancer Center, which opened on Aug. 1, may be the building that bridges the services Jordan Valley offers to its cancer patients and the first hospital in Utah to implement an innovative form of chemotherapy, but to Misty Bateman it’s simply a symbol of hope. On Sept. 19, two days before the center’s official ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house, doctors at the center told Bateman that she’d successfully overcome her third battle with cancer. The disease that afflicted her, beginning in her liver and intestines, is in remission. “I’ve been upgraded from patient to survivor this week,” Bateman said, holding back tears. Bateman and her doctor, Richard Frame of Utah Cancer Specialists, embraced at the ribboncutting ceremony, exchanging positive words and congratulations. Frame said he hopes Bateman is one of many to receive good news at the facility. The $20 million cancer center, located at 3592 West 9000 South, houses a center for women’s oncology, a resource room run by the American Cancer Society and an area designated for Brachytherapy, an internal radiation therapy. The center’s Versa HD machine can apply conventional cancer therapies and techniques that target tumors, including advanced stereotactic radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery. “The beauty is, if you are a cancer patient, your surgeon is most likely here, your medical oncologist is here, and your radiation oncologist is here—all in one setting,” Steven Anderson, Jordan Valley Medical Center CEO, said. Before the Jordan Valley Cancer Center opening, oncologists were spread through hospital locations in the valley, requiring patients to travel to several hospitals for visits. Most of Bateman’s therapy occurred before the construction of the new cancer center. She
Member Care Representative Software Sales Specialist Customer Service Gaming Guru traveled from place to place and described the old chemotherapy facility as “small” and “cramped.” “I just feel like this one is so open and just peaceful, and that is important,” she said. “I think it is really an amazing place. It’s important to have that peace.” Frame said he’s excited for the cancer center because it allows space for research and includes the technology to advance cancer care in Utah. Jordan Valley doctors performed the first hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy treatment in Utah at the new center, a treatment where chemotherapy is delivered directly to the abdomen during surgery. Clinical research studies and cancer support groups will be facilitated on site, providing a one-stop place for cancer help, Frame said. Doctors, patients and their families and hospital staff celebrated the Jordan Valley Cancer Center at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 21 where they listened to speeches by Anderson, IASIS Healthcare President, and CEO Carl Whitmer, Jordan Valley Medical Center Board Member David Newton, and doctors Anne Kieryn, Mark Reilly and Frame. Afterward, Jennifer Morris, senior director of hospital systems for the American Cancer Society, presented the Charles R. Smart Award to IASIS Healthcare, Jordan Valley’s parent company, for the establishment of the cancer center facility. Irene Huntsman, Jordan Valley’s chaplain, offered a dedicatory prayer. Members of the West Jordan community came to the community open house on Sept. 24, which included free health screenings and light refreshments. Bates said she hoped the new facility attracts others to Jordan Valley’s care. “They are like family,” Bates said about the Jordan Valley doctors and specialist. “Once you are here, you are never alone.” l
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