Hope is here: welcoming the Mat–Su Valley Cancer Center

I was drawn to medicine by the power of hope and helping people. I chose to practice radiation oncology because both of my parents died from cancer. I went through the journey with both of them, and decided I wanted to help others in the same situation, it’s very personal for me.

This reason is at the heart of why I am thrilled to be the Medical Director of the new Mat-Su Valley Cancer Center in Palmer. On Sept. 30, community friends and neighbors in the Valley are invited to celebrate this new state-of-the-art facility at an event featuring free food, live music from the Ken Peltier Band, and an opportunity to meet Iditarod Musher DeeDee Jonroe, both cancer survivors who call the Valley home. We are also pleased that the Palmer Middle School choir is joining us for our program, and that the Palmer Chamber will be doing our ribbon cutting ceremony with us to commemorate our opening this fall.

We are aware that the Valley has grown and changed over the past few decades, and that quality care often meant a long drive for patients and caregivers, or a flight outside. The Mat–Su Valley Cancer Center brings a new option of technology and care close to home right here in the Valley, by putting in the same state of the art Varian TrueBeam that just went into the Providence Cancer Center, so patients can get the same level of care in the Valley that they would have had to go to the Providence Cancer Center for previously.”

We encourage anyone interested in learning about the center, or anyone interested in being a part of an important, distinctive event to attend. Each person who joins us will also have the unique opportunity to share hope and support for cancer patients with an interactive art project, called the “Journey of Hope.”

Big Lake artist and woodworker Keith Simmons is already hard at work designing the project. The Mat–Su Valley Cancer Center invites all in attendance to add a message of hope to a collective art piece that will be housed at the Center in perpetuity. Each message will be written on a wooden block. Simmons, along with his daughter Tara, will then merge the blocks along with fused glass to create a collaborative piece that weaves all the community’s hope together, reminding patients and survivors alike that the journey of cancer need not be traveled alone.

One of the new Center’s priorities is to engage and serve the local community, in the care it provides to patients and the value it creates in the community, both in job creation as well as providing unparalleled service and technology.

The event is Friday September 30, from 5pm to 8pm, so come join us in welcoming this state of the art facility to the Valley together. The new Mat-Su Valley Cancer Center is located adjacent to the Mat Su Regional Medical Campus across the parking lot from Imaging Associates, at 2250 Woodworth Loop in Palmer.

For more information about the event and the Center, head to http://www.matsuvalleycancer.com or call 907-707-1333.

Dr. Clare Bertucio is a Radiation Oncologist with more than 20 years of experience. She will be the medical director of the Mat–Su Valley Cancer Center. She has published several articles in peer review journals and has given presentations at international conferences.