by Sean Good
Daily Lobo
The UNM Cancer Research and Treatment Center will put New Mexico on the map for cancer research, the center's director said.
"We already have the people," Dr. Cheryl Willman said. "We already have the expertise, and now we are building a world-class facility to accommodate that."
Ground broke May 15 for the center, which will be near the UNM Outpatient Surgery and Imaging Services.
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The $90 million facility is scheduled for completion in February 2009.
University administrators and state representatives spoke to about 100 people at the ceremony.
UNM's cancer hospital is highly ranked in the country by U.S. News and World Report and the National Cancer Institute, said Leann Holt, spokeswoman for the center.
"That is because they have some of the best cancer doctors from around the nation," she said.
The program recruited doctors from all over the country, including graduates from Stanford and Harvard, Holt said.
Those doctors will have a state-of-the-art facility, she said.
"This is very important to New Mexico," she said. "It's going to be the first time that there has been a center where cancer patients can come and get any kind of treatment that they need, no matter what type of cancer they have."
UNM's cancer treatment program treats more than 40 percent of adults in New Mexico and most of the state's children who are affected by cancer every year.
Holt said the center has $57 million for the first phase of construction, which will pay for two-thirds of the center.
The first phase will take one year, she said.
The center has to go back to the Legislature and raise money from other sources to complete it, said Jamie Koch, president of the Board of Regents.
"It's well worth it because this center is a real tremendous asset," he said. "It's an asset for students who are in medical school, too."
The center will treat cancer patients, and it will be a place for students to learn, Willman said.
"Many UNM students are going to be interested in the fact that the Cancer Center will provide a lot of research and training opportunities," she said. "We have special programs all over the UNM campus, including the College of Engineering as well as Arts and Sciences, to name a few."
