Calgary Cancer Centre Moving Ahead Thanks to NDP Government

The history of the Calgary Cancer Centre is already one of excitement and heart break and it hasn’t even been built yet. On July 8, 2015, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman made the announcement that the Calgary Cancer Centre will move ahead. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this. In fact, this centre has been promised four different times. Here is a bit of history:
1981 – Tom Baker Cancer Centre Built
2002 – Tom Baker resources are stretched beyond capacity
2005 – PC Premier Klein promises $1B to build cancer centre
2008 – PC Premier Stelmach reneges on promise and offers $100M to bridge major gaps
2010 – $100M “bridge” does not proceed
2013 – PC Premier Redford promises $1B to build comprehensive centre by 2020
2015 – PC Premier Prentice announces re-evaluation of project after investment $20M to develop plan
2015 – PC Premier Prentice releases budget and states no new Comprehensive Cancer Centre
2015 – Minister Hoffman announces plan to build Comprehensive Cancer Centre on Foothills Medical Centre site
“Cancer patients, their families and their caregivers deserve certainty that this government is committed to the Calgary Cancer Centre. We want them to know that we are there for them and that we are moving forward with the Foothills Medical Centre site. With cancer rates expected to rise in Alberta by as much as 60 per cent in the next 15 years, this new centre will be integral to meeting cancer care needs in our province.” Sarah Hoffman, Minister of Health
The Concerned Citizens for the Calgary Cancer Centre (C5) are delighted that the NDP government will keep a campaign promise to build a comprehensive cancer centre at the Foothills Medical Campus in Calgary. “We are very excited that the government will deliver the comprehensive cancer centre that Southern Alberta urgently needs,” said John Osler, spokesperson for C5. “This is a significant commitment to cancer patients, their families and the many of us who have been and will be affected by cancer.”
C5 is a group of cancer patients, their families and friends and individuals passionate about cancer care in Calgary advocating for the construction of the comprehensive cancer centre at the Foothills Medical Centre site.
The centre will have all services required to address cancer needs that are currently spread across the city with the added benefit of additional inpatient beds, outpatient services and all care and treatments that are required to meet the demand of the over capacity issues at the Tom Baker Cancer centre. The added benefit of proximity to the Foothills will provide globally recognized best practices of a comprehensive cancer care teams encompassing diagnostics, research, treatment plans and supportive care services.
With Minister Hoffman hoping to have shovels in the ground before the end of the year, the targeted date of opening is sometime in 2020 but the planning for this centre has already begun. The basic elements of a comprehensive cancer centre, or the functional plan, have been developed over the past 2 years in collaboration with cancer doctors, patients, and experts. These plans have been supported by AHS, Alberta Infrastructure and Treasury over the course of development. Minister Hoffman has indicated that she will leverage what has already been developed versus reinventing the wheel. The government confirmed that project planning is underway and further details, including a timeline and budget, will be released this fall.
There was also talk once about the Calgary Cancer Centre being built at the South Health Campus, but that was rejected for a few reasons:
Significant synergies between the University of Calgary located at the FMC site
Provides expert resources, specialized clinical services, and service coordination which require quaternary supports that can only be provided at the FMC site
Physicians and educators strongly opposed this option as South Calgary site is not close to critical support
Highly acute and complex cancer patients require the support of existing services at FMC including highly specialized programs like surgical oncology
Highly inefficient and lack of access for Doctors and patients due to distance and limited resources leaves us exactly where we are now
The Centre will be constructed at the Foothills Hospital site, although exactly where has not yet be determined, but the government is looking at a few different options, said Health Minister Sarah Hoffman. One possibility is what was originally planned which was at the existing parkade site, facing 29th Street N.W. or potentially another parking area, said Hoffman.
Cancer is the leading cause of early death in Alberta with nearly 16,400 Albertans being diagnosed with cancer and more than 5,500 people dying from it each year, according to the province. It is the hopes of all that this new facility will offer faster, more effective and more convenient services for patients and their families.