Cancer Center closer to reality

Mary A. Castillo

The Cancer Center at the South Coast Medical Center is gaining

momentum as it prepares to begin offering a comprehensive treatment

program on Sept. 30.

The Cancer Center will be developed in three phases culminating

with the construction of the two-story, 24,000-square-foot building.

Construction is not yet scheduled as the hospital’s Foundation

continues to actively raise funds to provide $16 million needed to

complete the project.

As of last month, $5.8 million has been raised, said Joe Orsak,

president of the Foundation.

“We’ve been doing internal fund-raising among existing donors and

people who are aware of the project because we were waiting for

approval from the city,” said Orsak.

Plans for a major campaign are underway as Orsak and his team

begin identifying major donors. The Foundation receives 90% of its

donations from individuals. He hopes they will officially launch it

early next year with 75 to 80% of the money raised. However, rather

than wait for the free-standing building to be completed, the center

is moving ahead to provide services to patients.

“We’re in phase one of developing the interim cancer center,” said

Linda Haghi, executive director.

The interim center will provide a full range of medical oncology,

pain management, psycho/social programs and all types of support

services that cancer patients need, said Haghi.

The most important achievement in this phase was the hiring of Dr.

Chu-Pei Feng, who will serve as medical director for the radiation

therapy department. Feng, a radiation oncologist who trained at Johns

Hopkins Oncology Center,

is a member of Santa Ana/Tustin Radiation Therapy Medical Group.

The center will continue to develop the melanoma and skin cancer

program and expand surgical services, said Haghi.

The end of first phase will be marked by the purchase of a new

high-energy linear accelerator.

“This is a best available machine that can target a tumor but

spare healthy tissues and decrease side effects,” said Haghi.

She expects that the accelerator will be installed within the next

nine months. The second phase, expected to begin mid-2003, will move

services to an interim cancer center in a dedicated wing of the

hospital.

In spite of a choppy economy, Orsak is confident they will have

the funds to complete the project.

“I’ve been in this for 13 years and went through a few of these

cycles,” he said.

It has been his experience that bad economies have yielded more

successful fund-raising campaigns.

“We tell our story harder

and remind people that we

need to make things happen because the government won’t,” he said.

* MARY A. CASTILLO is a news assistant for the Coastline Pilot.

She covers education, public safety and City Hall.