Why Jeff Parsons Is Excited for Central Maine Healthcare’s New Cancer Care Center

I’ve been looking forward to the opening of Central Maine Healthcare’s Cancer Care Center since I learned about it from my oncologist. They started constructing this $33.2 million project in November 2020 and expect to open soon.

It’s been 10 years since my initial diagnosis of cutaneous B Cell lymphoma and the treatment I received from the care team was extraordinary. So much so that even after moving from the Lewiston/Auburn area, I still see these people for my checkups twice a year.

Everything about the new two-story, 52,000-square-foot facility is meant to make things easier for cancer patients and their families. All oncology services will be housed in one area, so patients don't have to navigate different areas of the Central Maine Medical Center's campus for care, and the design embraces natural light, open space, and growing plants to provide a comfortable, welcoming space.

In addition, they'll have two new state-of-the-art Varian linear accelerators critical for radiation therapy — that's the newest model, and there's only six Varian linear accelerators in the state. Of course, this new technology and facility will have the same caring, expert medical team that has made Central Maine Healthcare's oncology institute a top regional cancer referral center for years.

For me, they’re friends after all this time. Friends who are the best at what they do, and now have an opportunity to give their patients, like me, even better care thanks to the tools that will be available to them at the new Cancer Care Center. After having experienced firsthand what it is like to be treated for cancer, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. To learn more, visit cmhc.org/cancer/cmmc-cancer-care-center.