Design of New Sarah Cannon Cancer Center Emphasizes Convenience
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In its first year of operation‚ the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Dickson is already becoming a destination for regional cancer treatment.
The new facility‚ located within the 66-acre Natchez Medical Park Complex on Highway 46 South in Dickson‚ was built with patients’ convenience in mind.
“We have imaging‚ radiation oncol ogy and medical oncology all under one roof‚” says Betty Weaver‚ Horizon Medical Center’s director of marketing. “In most other centers you have to go to different offices for different services. In Dickson‚ it’s so convenient because it’s all done right there.”
The short travel distance to and from the facility also greatly benefits patients and their families.
The $16.7 million‚ 23‚000-square-foot facility‚ completed in January 2007‚ includes the Natchez Imaging Center‚ physician offices for Tennessee Oncology and a resource center for the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation.
Based on current numbers‚ center officials expect to treat 200 cancer patients in 2007 alone‚ Weaver says.
“Our patient volume has exceeded our projections‚” she says. “This supports our belief that the services offered at the cancer and imaging center were definitely needed in the community.”
John Marshall‚ chief executive officer of Horizon Medical Center‚ says more than 1.3 million people nationwide are diagnosed with cancer each year – and studies indicate about 300 new patients are diagnosed in Dickson‚ Hickman‚ Montgomery‚ Houston and Stewart counties each year.
“Most patients receive treatments five days a week for five weeks‚ so this location is a great benefit to this community and surrounding areas‚” Marshall says. “It provides radiation and medical oncology treatment and diagnostic imaging. Almost two-thirds of cancer patients benefit from radiation therapy treatments.”
Through the work of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center network of over 540 oncologists in 25 states‚ more patients are benefiting from life-saving cancer diagnosis and treatment‚ Weaver says. In fact‚ the network has grown to become the largest community based‚ privately funded diagnostic and treatment center in the country.
The Dickson center is one of 16 affiliates in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky named after Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon‚ otherwise known as Minnie Pearl‚ a breast cancer survivor and champion of the cause. Cannon‚ who is one of country music’s most recognized stars and one of America’s top cultural icons‚ gave her name to the cancer centers in 1991. Although she died five years later at the age of 83‚ her name lives on forever in her contributions to cancer research and education.
Story by Megan Moriarty
Photo by Brian McCord
