Public invited to take a tour of the new state-of-the-art facility on June 11
Doors to the gleaming 100,000-square-foot Cowell Family Cancer Center will open this Saturday, June 11, between 9 a.m. and noon for a Community Open House. The cancer center is located at 217 S. Madison St. in Traverse City.
The $45 million state-of-the-art building was made possible by the generosity of 2,500 donors who contributed $18.5 million to the project. Those donations included a $5 million lead gift from Traverse City resident and businessman Casey Cowell.
Services available within the cancer center include gynecologic, medical, and radiation oncology, along with supportive services such as nutrition, social work, and genetics.
“We are really pleased to share with the community a glimpse of this beautiful facility now available to cancer patients across the region,” said Kathy LaRaia, executive director for Oncology Services at Munson Medical Center. “We are appreciative of all the community support this project has received over the past few years.”
During the open house, there will be a special artist reception for Megan Hildebrand from 11 a.m. to noon. She is the first artist participating in the cancer center’s Aesthetics of Health Series. The series is a rotating collection featuring nationally recognized artists that will be on display at the center. Hildebrand teaches painting and digital medial at Interlochen Fine Arts Boarding Academy.
Community lectures at the cancer center are being planned to cover a range of topics including the arts, cooking, cancer screening, gardening, approaches to cancer prevention and treatment, and much more. There will be health and wellness resources available to peruse. Coming soon will be integrative therapies including yoga, pilates, massage, and Asian bodywork. Recent studies support the fact that healthy lifestyle behaviors can impact prevention of cancer and reduction in the risk of cancer recurring.
Following two years of construction, the cancer center began seeing patients in late February. As part of the Munson Healthcare Regional Cancer Network, the cancer center is partnering with county transportation departments to provide transportation to radiation therapy at no cost to the patient.
The network, which includes other Munson Healthcare hospitals, promotes care coordination and convenient access for infusion services, and medical oncology consultations and follow-up close to the patient’s home.
For more information on cancer services at Munson Healthcare, go to munsonhealthcare.org/cancer.