AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Cancer Institute is officially open.
After two years of planning and construction, the health system hosted a grand opening event on a rainly Thursday morning for the $76 million cancer center, located at its Merriam campus off Interstate 35 and 75th Street.
The new facility will start seeing patients on Monday, May 13.
New institute replaces aging cancer center on site
- Brenda Shoup, medical director of the cancer institute and a gynecologic oncologist, told the Post in an interview that the new facility aims to decrease patient stress and anxiety.
- Previously located across the parking lot, Shoup said AdventHealth Shawnee Mission’s cancer center outgrew itself and asked patients what they needed and wanted out of treatment.
- That’s why all the treatment a patient needs is located in one building, Shoup said.
- Shoup said AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Cancer Institute’s team of physicians and health care workers is also a key factor to providing patients a positive experience in a not-so-positive situation.
- “Cancer is never a fun thing to go through, but what we want to do is make that experience as stress free and easy as possible for them,” Shoup said.
A unique technology is housed at the new facility
- The new cancer center is the only facility in the region that offers MRI-guided radiation therapy, Shoup said.
- MRI-guided radiation therapy is “real-time,” meaning the radiation beam can change based on where the tumor is located, Shoup said.
- For example, Shoup said if the tumor gets smaller, then the radiation beam gets smaller.
- This can “shorten treatment times, improve outcomes and decrease toxicity,” Shoup said.
The 71,000-square-foot facility features physical therapy and labs
- There are infusion centers for chemotherapy on the second floor, that include chairs picked out by patients and semi-private suites.
- There are outdoor patios on the second floor for patients and families to take breaks during chemotherapy sessions.
- A physical therapy area is located on the second floor to eliminate patients needing to go to another facility for such services.
- Medical oncology, gynecologic oncology, breast surgery and on-site labs — which can get patients results in 15 minutes — are all on the first floor.
- Radiation, advanced imaging and a chapel are all located on the ground floor.
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