On Sunday, October 2, the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center celebrated one year of treating cancer patients in its new location at 224 Memorial Medical Parkway in Daytona Beach. To celebrate, patients, staff and community members were invited to an anniversary reception complete with tours, thank-you speeches and plenty of hugs between patients and their doctors.

“This is a big milestone,” said Luis Chanaga, Executive Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. “In its first year, the new Comprehensive Cancer Center has made a lot of improvements in the cancer care available to residents in the area, and I think patients have really responded to the enhanced services and treatments we’ve been able to offer.”

Since the doors of the Center were first opened in October 2010, a new physician was hired – Seema Harichand-Herdt, MD – and four new positions were created with the purpose of providing patients with the best care experience possible. These new positions include two guest liaisons, a physicist and an additional lab technician.

The leadership team also expanded with the creation of three new management positions – an operations manager, a radiation therapy manager and a patient support services manager.

The new location, facility, technology, staff, services and amenities are statistically making a positive impression on cancer patients. Of the new radiation therapy patients who received consultation from the Comprehensive Cancer Center, 93 percent decided to be treated at this specific facility. Additionally, patient satisfaction scores have remained at an average of 100 percent over the past year, according to surveys done by the Patient Experience department at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center.

On September 12, the Center became an affiliate site to the Mayo Clinic of Florida. The Comprehensive Cancer Center enrolled as a member of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG), giving it the opportunity to participate in large clinical trials. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center serves as the research base for NCCTG, providing clinical and laboratory research expertise.

Since its opening, the Comprehensive Cancer Center has added three support groups to its roster: a Breast Cancer Support Group for those who are current patients or are one year out from finishing treatment; a Breast Cancer Survivorship Support Group for survivors of a year or longer; and Art in Therapy classes, where professional facilitators from Ormond Memorial Art Museum teach patients and caregivers art techniques ranging from painting and sketching, to crafts and photography.

The Center has also added various amenities for chemotherapy patients, such as a free lunch and welcome bags with blankets, mugs, thermometers and assorted tea bags. Patients, families, and staff members alike have been enthralled with the latest addition to the Center: Hope and Faith, the two swans donated by the Lohman Family of Lohman Funeral Homes to swim the pond in front of the hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Now that all services for a cancer treatment plan are provided under one roof, the hospital’s 30,000-square-foot Comprehensive Cancer Center eliminates the need to drive around town – or even leave town - to see a specialist. Lab work, imaging, surgical consultation, support groups, nutrition therapy, financial counseling and a library and resource center are all available at the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

About Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Center

The Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Center is a 30,000-square-foot outpatient facility and is home to the latest in cancer technology and treatment. The Center is designed to eliminate multiple trips to various locations by offering advanced technology, chemotherapy treatments, services and resources all under one roof and delivered with the healing ministry of Christ. For more information about the Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Center, call (386) 231-4000 or visit www.FloridaHospitalMemorial.org/cancer.