A cancer survivor whose treatment meant several trips to the south was among those who celebrated the final concrete pour Friday for the Cancer Centre of the North Friday.
Desa Chipman, 42, couldn't say enough about how the facility will make life so much easier for cancer patients in northern B.C. once it's up and running by the end of next year.
"Just having this facility here where they can seek treatment here instead of having to travel is a bonus, it's a huge plus," Chipman said following a ceremony that saw her and her husband, Scott, and son, Zachary, leave their palm prints in a concrete slab that will be place in a garden at the centre.
"As well as having the healing centre. I mean I know that I can come down here even if I just want to reflect on my journey and remember how lucky I am and possibly even to off to help and volunteer. It's great to have it here in Prince George."
Chipman, 42, who will have been cancer free for 10 years this December, was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Typical of many other patients living in northern B.C., it meant several long trips and extended stays in Vancouver.
"I mean I had to drop my son off at daycare and not pick him up for two weeks and hope that he was o.k.," said Chipman.
Due to complications with her diagnosis, she had to be sent down to the B.C. Cancer Agency in Vancouver to meet with radiologists and oncologists several times. The outcome was major surgery and then a few followups afterwards.
Travelling to Vancouver only added to the stress.
"My husband and I often say that our trips are often full of laughter and dancing and having fun and of course these trips were a lot more somber, a lot more stressful, because we were having to leave our son behind and financially it's a burden, it's a drain," Chipman said.
"We slept where we could. We slept on people's couches, we slept in people's guest rooms, in hotels. We were lucky we did have a few friends we could stay with but we ended up with a big bill at the end of it all."
In all, 906 truckloads of concrete, adding up to 6,339 cubic metres (8,291 cubic yards) have been poured at the centre, located next to University Hospital of Northern B.C., with 246 truckloads going towards a vault that requires walls nearly 3.5 metres (11 feet) thick to contain the radiation delivered by two linear accelerators.
The facility, which will cover 5,000 square metres (54,000 square feet), will also include a computerized tomography (CT) simulator, a chemotherapy unit, a pharmacy and general outpatient clinics.
Total cost of the project, which includes a now-completed parkade to make up for the spots displaced by the centre, has been set at $69.9 million under a public-private partnership between the B.C. Cancer Agency and Plenary Health, which is responsible for the centre's design, finance and construction and maintenance for 30 years. All the clinical health services will be publicly funded.
