Park City resident Dave Staley is intimately familiar with the drive through Parley’s Canyon.
For seven weeks, Staley drove 45 minutes to Salt Lake City and back every day to seek treatment for his recently diagnosed throat cancer. It was difficult for his family, but Staley quickly realized his commute from Park City wasn’t as bad as it could have been when he befriended another cancer patient whose husband drove her four hours from Duchesne County on a daily basis to receive the same treatment.
But with the opening of the Park City Hospital Cancer Center last week, Parkites and other Utahns on the east side of the state no longer need to travel quite as far for lifesaving healthcare.
“We watch what the community is needing, and as people came into the hospital and we had to transfer them out for care, we saw a larger number of cancer patients as the years went on, especially as our population increased after COVID,” said Park City Hospital President Lori Weston. “As we watch that, we determine if there’s enough volume to bring a service like this here to our community.”
The cancer center provides traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, but it also supports Intermountain Health’s philosophy of supporting a patient in all aspects of life.
“Within our lifestyle medicine center, we’re helping people recover from cancer and deal with some of the side effects or lifelong impacts that cancer has left them,” Weston said. “We’ve got a cancer survivorship program where patients who have neuropathy or pain have massage therapists there who do lymphatic massage, or cancer massage. We also have dietitians who are trained for cancer patients.”
Weston said Park City Hospital previously offered some care for cancer patients, such as infusions and chemotherapy, but the hospital was unable to provide radiation treatments. Those treatments are required daily, and they’re why Wasatch Back residents like Staley had to drive 45 minutes each way.
“We’re also increasing the cancer surgeries that we do at the hospital,” Weston said. “We currently do breast reconstruction and breast surgeries. We do throat cancers, (gastrointestinal), general surgery and prostate cancer as well. We’ve done Mohs surgery for skin for many years, so we’re putting into place the surgeries that are most prevalent on the Wasatch Back.”
The cancer center took three years to build, and Intermountain Health invested $50 million into the facility. Weston estimated the center will see 1,500 patients each year.
“We have world-class care locally, and there’s no need to travel when you’re going to get that care or more coordinated and personalized care right here,” Weston said.
Clarke Low, a medical oncologist for Park City Hospital, said he’s grateful for the chance to treat patients holistically and called the cancer center a “game changer” for the facility.
“Getting cancer is never convenient, but having to drive 30 minutes or more, especially in the middle of a snowstorm, makes it even more inconvenient,” Low said. “Intermountain has always been very dedicated to offering care to patients close to home. … I’m so excited that patients don’t have to drive down to the valley five days a week to receive their radiation.”
Low said the cancer center also gives hospital employees opportunities to collaborate on complicated cases and explore medical advancements, which is especially important because cancer research moves at a rapid pace.
“I might have an idea of what was the best thing to do six months ago, but before I decided on a treatment for a patient, I can collaborate and work with colleagues throughout the Intermountain system to make sure that what we’re offering is, in fact, the very best world-class cancer care that patients deserve,” Low said.
He added that Park City Hospital staff are a cohesive team, which is necessary when treating cancer because it can affect each individual differently and spread to other areas of the body.
“All of my colleagues in Salt Lake City are very jealous of all the care that patients here have access to, and that is due to the generosity of donors and also the leadership of the hospital administration in making sure that patients have that,” Low said. “Providing exceptional cancer care requires more than physicians and technology. It takes the entire team working together to support patients through every stage of the journey.”
Information on the Park City Hospital Cancer Center, including types of care and how to schedule an appointment, is available by visiting intermountainhealthcare.org/locations/park-city-hospital/cancer-center.