SIH opened their new Cancer Institute in Carterville for a open house on Friday.
Dozens of people showed up for the ribbon cutting and to get a first look at the 43,000 square foot facility.
SIH started planning the institute in 2010 and the project cost 24.5 million and took 15 months to build.
One of the highlights of the tour is the new linear accelerator machine for radiation treatment.
Two new features of the machine is the ability to do soft body stereotactic and soft body radio surgery.
Which make a 3 dimensional map of the cancer target and can pin point the treatment area with in a millimeter, saving the healthy cells around the tumor.
Dr. George Kao says that this technology will keep people closer to home for treatment.
“The machine can do all latest stuff just like any place in the country, and I can tell you not all the big cancer centers have the machine we have either so it was pretty expensive but the idea of this cancer center is to provide excellent care, the latest care but with compassion.”
The machine came with a 3.2 million dollar price tag.
SIH officials say with Southern Illinois having 8 of the 10 worst counties in the state in terms of cancer death rates, it’s a great investment.
Jennifer Badiu with SIH says that the environment can contribute to the healing process.
“Cancer care is primarily an out patient service so we felt that in a therapeutic environment where its centrally located, easily accessible but also relaxing and therapeutic so we were so happy to find this property here in Carterville which butts up next to the wildlife preserve so we’ll always have the tree and nature around us.”
Badiu says in the first year of treatment a patient sees a physician up to 100 times in the first year.
The new center combines all the doctors, treatments, and other departments into one location to keep patients close to home and minimize traveling and expenses.
