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economist sunsuntribune health saturday oct 1 2005 staff photomike barrett southlake health care centre nurse diane paton checks a patients chart as health minister george smither- man newmarketaurora mp belinda stronach and others tour the cancer facility thursday an expansion was approved and will be called the stronach centre due to the familys 8million donation by chris traber staff writer the 60million southlake regional cancer centre approved by the province thursday could treat as many as 62000 patients a year the stronach regional cancer centre sched uled to be completed within three years is to begin construction next year the project has been all but guaranteed since early 2004 when the province committed 6 mil lion for design and planning costs our government is ensuring that people in all areas of the province have access to the health care they need and that includes first class can cer services health minister george smifher- mansaid mr smitherman who had stated as recently as last december that a york region cancer cen tre was not a priority praised the hospitals staff and volunteers for their hard work and commit ment what i really want to say to the folks at southlake is southlake rocks southlakes cancer centre will be more con venient for most york region residents those who live near the toronto border may still opt to get treatment at sunnybrook or other existing cancer centres according to southlake spokesperson mandy downs the centre will be invaluable for york resi dents undergoing radiation and chemotherapy said one newmarket cancer survivor like the credit card commercial having a full service cancer centre in your own back yard will be priceless said breast cancer survivor kathyproudfoot volunteer spokesperson for the centre its huge as you can imagine when youre going through treatment youre not well and you have to travel hours for care its difficult on one self family and friends bottom line is people want to help but you want to be selfsufficient and not turn everyones life upsidedown not to have to travel two and half hours one way for treatment really will be priceless the news is most welcome and gratifying its good the ontario government is now embracing all the work done by dan carriere and his team a firstclass cancer treatment facility nearby offers all- important confidence and peace of mind for patients mrs proudfoot said when youre going through radiation and chemotherapy your immune system is wiped out she said if something goes wrong you need to access care quickly theres a huge differ ence between having to travel up to three hours to toronto depending on traffic or weather ver sus maybe 40 minutes at best within york region the facitily was named after the stronach family who donated 8million contribution to the project the politics of the event wasnt lost on con servative oak ridges mpp frank klees hinting the government was recycling old news the news is most welcome and gratifying its good the ontario government is now embracing all the work done by dan carriere and his team but the fact remains that the government made this commitment two and half years ago the only disappointment is we waited two and half years for reaffirmation of a commitment our government originally made mr klees said now here is mr smitherman putting his stamp of approval on work previously done ontario will fund approximately 70 per cent of construction expenses with the hospital fund ing the rest mr smitherman said in an interview the cancer centre is one of several hospital projects approved under the renew ontario program a fiveyear 30billion infrastructure investment plan which is earmarking 5 billion to support health care initiatives mr carriere is confident the hospitals por tion of the cost approximately 18 million is on track i have no misgivings and expect well raise the full amount he said were in the middle of a silent campaign and were already at the 10- million mark tenders will be completed by february mr carriere speculated he remains anxious to begin construction by next years thaw yesterday is when i wanted the first shovel in the ground he said weve all heard about life and death situations this is one we want to start saving lives as quickly as possible mrs proudfoot couldnt be happier really when it comes to cancer care and treatment close to home were all shareholders centre to offer chemotherapy suite with 23 treatment areas ct simulator suite where technicians can identity areas of the body requiring radiation therapy four radiation treatment rooms two large clinics with 20 individual rooms for examinations counselling and special procedures place to provide support for those living with or affected by cancer and terrace and gardens for patients and their visitors radiation treatment offered at cancer centre the stronach regional can cer centre will serve residents of york region and south simcoe county a population base of more than one million people the centre will conduct clini cal drug trials these controlled studies play an important role in the discov ery of medical advancements that can result in longer or improved quality of life for can cer patients southlake continues to pro vide diagnostics surgery chemotherapy and support for more than 16000 yearly patient visits by 2008 patient visitor treat ment will quadruple to 62000 annually including 31000 patient visits for radiation thera py currently not available in york or south simcoe by 2014 york region can expect 484 new cases of lung cancer 614 new cases of colorec tal cancer 880 new cases of prostate cancer and 431 new cases of breast cancer each year for information or to support the new cancer centre call 9058954521 exl 2639 or visit wwwsouthlakeregionalorg electronic liquidators dvd player m99 camcorders h qq99 27 flat screen tv while quantities last brand name 7 portable dvd players panasonic 24 ghz digital answering machine 39 minor cosmetic scratches markham s 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