World-renowned cancer care facility moving into Rock Row
WESTBROOK, Maine (WMTW) - A world-renowned cancer care facility is moving from Scarborough to Rock Row, just off the Westbrook Arterial. The move will allow cancer patients to receive treatment closer to home.
The concert stage that is currently in place is coming down. Behind that, a new state-of-the-art research and medical complex will be built. The final price tag has not been released.
The anchor tenant will be New England Cancer Specialists. It is moving from its current Scarborough location to Rock Row in Westbrook. Developers and city officials called it “a big project and a big deal for cancer patients in Maine.”
A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Sept. 21 with hopes of offering world-renowned cancer care by the spring of 2024. New England Cancer Specialists is the largest medical oncology group in the region. Back in January, it became the first-ever affiliate member of Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
The president of NECS, Dr. Chiara Battelli, said the affiliation with Dana Farber is a big deal.
”We have direct access to them and a deep collaboration with them,” Battelli said.
She said this allows patients to get their care closer to home.
Nobody knows that better than Sarah Emerson of Westbrook, who was on hand for the ground-breaking She is a breast cancer survivor, who spoke about her treatment and the importance of this project.
”Being able to work full time and to get your treatment and not have to leave home,” Emerson said. “There’s something about being able to be able to sleep in your own bed at night that makes it easier to heal and get better,” She said.
Westbrook Mayor Michael Foley said the planned convention center, hotels and more than 700 units of housing are still part of the development plans for Rock Row. But he said today is all about the millions of dollars being spent to create a research and medical campus here at rock row.
”To be able to have community cancer treatment is the new treatment model for cancer patients. They don’t have to go to big cities like Boston or Chicago to get the treatments that they need. They can get them right here in the community,” Foley said.
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