MISSION HILLS : A Cancer Center for ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’

Allene Nungesser remembers her battle with cancer. She drove miles between treatment centers tucked away in the dim bunkers in hospital basements. She chased doctors down the hall to get advice. When she began losing her hair from treatment, she got most of her advice from the sales staff at a department store’s wig department.

It was a harsh and cold lesson for someone in the health administration field.

So when Holy Cross Medical Center physicians said they wanted a cancer center, Nungesser, the facility’s chief operating officer and executive vice president, had some strong ideas.

The results of her work will be unveiled in the first week of November, when the hospital’s $4.7-million regional cancer center opens for patients.

“I think the goal at Holy Cross is never to let patients feel that alone, that boxed, that--afloat,” Nungesser said.

The center’s motto will be “supporting body, mind and spirit,” an idea literally built into the facility. Natural light pours through skylights or full-sized windows. Even the lin ear-accelerator room, with its 4,000-pound protective door, seems less intimidating. Patients lying on treatment tables stare up at stained glass. And those in lengthy chemotherapy will be able to sit in lounge chairs, watch television, plug in a laptop computer, or make telephone calls. There are almost enough plants in the room to support a flock of tropical birds.

“This really puts the patient in the middle,” said Nungesser. “We want a seamlessness to it--the ability of a family and patient to come to a hospital and feel from the first moment they’re well-supported.”

Rooms have been set aside for private consultations, and space added for families to accompany patients. Support groups will meet in the center’s conference rooms, and private oncologists will have offices in one wing, Nungesser said.

Although it is not the only cancer center in the region, the hospital is in an area with a large population that is 40 years or older, a higher-risk group for cancer, Nungesser said.

“It’s a very prevalent disease in our population, and as the population ages, unfortunately, it will become the disease of the baby boomers,” she said.

In addition, the nationwide shift toward “managed care” should increase demand for outpatient centers such as the new one at Holy Cross, she said.

Opening ceremonies are scheduled for Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m., with an open house for the public from 3 to 8 p.m., said Jane Cessar, a hospital spokeswoman.