LANCASTER –The City of Hope Antelope Valley full-service cancer center reached a key construction milestone Friday, as crews poured the concrete for the linear accelerator vault.
“This vault is key to the treatment that’s going to be going on at this cancer center,” said Rick Rowe, Vice President, Diagnostic and Support Services for Antelope Valley Hospital. “[The vault] is where all the cancer treatment and radiation treatment is going to be taking place, so it’s really critical.”
The new cancer treatment center will include a Varian Linear Accelerator with Rapid ARC technology, a sophisticated radiotherapy technology that delivers targeted radiation more quickly than other modern treatment, officials said.
“It’s a lot of radiation that’s very targeted into a small area,” Rowe said. “We need to have the shielding to protect from that radiation.”
To shield others from the radiation emitted during treatment, the vault housing the linear accelerator is being constructed with 500 cubic yards of concrete (approximately 2,025,000 pounds) in addition to 33.35 tons of rebar.
The vault’s walls and ceilings will be 3 feet thick, with the floors being 2 feet in thickness. An 8-foot concrete barrier is also being placed along the primary beam path.
Throughout Friday, 55 trucks were to be involved in the concrete pour, officials said.
Construction is going well, and the facility is on track to be up and running by the end of this year, Rowe said.
The new 56,195-square-foot, 2-story medical and education center will house a full-service cancer center, along with a conference center, a 172-seat auditorium, and space for physician offices.
The facility will offer a full range of diagnostic and treatment options, clinical trials and research, as well as a complete support system designed to assist the patient throughout the entire cancer treatment process.
The City of Hope Antelope Valley’s mission is to provide world-class cancer care to the community of Antelope Valley in conjunction with Antelope Valley Hospital. Once constructed, the facility will help ease the burden on patients and their families who would normally have to travel a far distance away to get complete cancer treatment and care, Rowe explained.
“To get their care up here at a level they can get anywhere else, actually, in the world,” Rowe said. “It will be a great thing for this Valley.”
The new cancer treatment and community education facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013 at 44515 15th Street West in Lancaster.
dumbandblind says
Cancer Research – A Super Fraud? http://rense.com/general9/cre.htm
Wake up!
Michael Rives says
Also, there is story circulating on the internet about cancer centers refusing to admit Medicare patients because of the cuts in payments, due to the sequester, to doctors and hospitals and because of the high cost of chemotherapy drugs. Does that mean that the City of Hope facilities in Lancaster will only be available to those with private medical insurance?
Michael Rives says
The City of Hope is already a presence on the campus of AV hospital. There are already medical offices on the campus, too. The person coming out ahead here is the developer of the building not AV Hospital. The hospital will have to lease space in the building. Also, if I am correct, the City of Hope has teamed up with a medical group in preparation for Obamacare. One more thing and never answered during the campaign for directors of the AV Hospital Board is whether the City of Hope is going to give a break for those who have no insurance? Also, why a deal with the City of Hope and not with Norris Cancer Center?
B says
Clinical Trials
Are the “break” you are asking about…
Available to all who meet the protocol,
Insurance or no.
City of Hope in Duarte
Is the Best!