Grand Junction Hospital Adds Regional Cancer Treatment Wing

St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction has opened a new dedicated cancer treatment wing, significantly reducing the need for Western Slope patients to travel to Denver or other Front Range cities for many types of cancer treatment previously unavailable locally.

Oncology services director Dr. Felicia Marsh says the new wing adds both expanded chemotherapy infusion capacity and updated radiation therapy equipment, allowing the hospital to treat a broader range of cancer types locally than its previous, more limited oncology facilities permitted. "Cancer treatment often means daily or weekly appointments for weeks at a time," Marsh said. "Asking patients to make that drive to Denver repeatedly, often while feeling quite unwell from treatment itself, is a real burden we wanted to eliminate."

Expanding Treatment Options Available Locally

The new wing's updated radiation therapy equipment allows the hospital to offer more precise, targeted radiation treatment options that weren't previously available with the hospital's older equipment, expanding the range of cancer types and stages the hospital can treat locally rather than referring patients to Denver-based cancer centers. Hospital officials say this expanded local treatment capacity was a direct response to patient and referring physician feedback about the burden of travel-dependent cancer care.

The wing also includes an expanded infusion center with a more comfortable, spacious design compared to the hospital's previous chemotherapy treatment space, reflecting research on patient experience during lengthy chemotherapy infusion appointments that can last several hours per visit.

Reducing Travel Burden for Western Slope Cancer Patients

Western Slope cancer patients previously requiring specialized treatment unavailable locally faced round-trip drives of several hours to reach Denver-based cancer treatment centers, a burden particularly significant for patients undergoing treatment regimens requiring frequent, repeated visits over extended treatment courses. Hospital officials say patient feedback since the wing's opening has emphasized appreciation for being able to receive comprehensive cancer treatment close to home, close to family support networks, during what is often an already difficult treatment experience.

The hospital says it's continuing to recruit additional oncology specialists to fully staff the expanded wing's capacity, with some highly specialized cancer treatment types still requiring referral to Denver-based specialists, though hospital officials say the wing significantly reduces the share of Western Slope cancer patients who need to make that referral.