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Description

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Welcome to The Juravinski Cancer Centre
Anyone who has ever faced a diagnosis of cancer understands how important it is to have somewhere to turn for information treatment and most importantly hope At the Juravinski Cancer Centre JCC our team of health care professionals is dedicated to providing our patients with high quality cancer care

As a regional cancer centre and a Cancer Care Ontario partner the JCC works with hospitals and community partners to provide timely access to expert care and treatment for cancer patients living in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN The JCC provides chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for patients and a variety of services including genetic and psychosocial counseling nutritional services education and supportive care Prevention and Screening programs are also offered at the Centre to help decrease the burden of cancer

The JCC part of the Hamilton Health Sciences family of hospitals is located next to the Henderson General Hospital which provides acute inpatient and palliative care as well as diagnostic services for cancer patients

Through its affiliation with McMaster University the JCC is also actively involved in laboratory research and clinical trials to discover and apply better treatment methods for cancer

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History

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History
The Juravinski Cancer Centre provides hope for today and the future through dedication to high quality patient care education and research

Cancer care in the Central West Ontario Region has made significant strides since the first treatment took place in 1920 Today the Juravinski Cancer Centre provides care to thousands of patients each year The Centre also has a broad range of education and research programs that are designed to make a positive impact on the future of cancer treatment for years to come

The Juravinski Cancer Centre as it is known today has a long and interesting history of meeting the cancer care needs of the community it serves

Cancer treatment in the Hamilton area began in 1920 when the Hamilton General Hospital began providing xray treatments to cancer patients Five years later the Hamilton General Hospital purchased a quantity of radium and a 100kV xray machine

The Hamilton Institute of Radium Therapy was established at the Hamilton General Hospital in 1935 It served cancer patients in the area until 1949 until when the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation OCTRF assumed this role

The Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research foundation OCTRF was incorporated in 1943 by an Act of the Legislature of the Province of Ontario Its mandate was to establish and conduct a program of diagnosis treatment and research for cancer in Ontario

In 1949 the OCTRF took over operation of the cancer clinic at the Hamilton General Hospital Two years later the new Hamilton Clinic of the OCTRF was officially opended and occupied an area on the second floor of the Cooper Wing of the Hamilton General Hospital

By 1960 the population of Hamilton and its surrounding district had risen to 800000 people The increasing number of patients and lack of space resulted in another move for the Hamilton Cancer Clinic up the mountain to the Henderson General Hospital and heralded new and advanced methods of radiotherapy The acquisition of 500000 of new equipment included a 6 MV linear accelerator the first of its kind in Canada

Active chemotherapy treatment began at the Henderson and the Cancer Clinic in the early 1970s

In the early 1980s the Hamilton Cancer Clinic working with the OCTRF and regional hospitals started to develop a community oncology program with specialized clinics in Hamilton at St Josephs Hospital in Cambridge ant the Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Burlington at the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital and in St Catharines at the Hotel Dieu Hospital

The Hamilton Cancer Clinic became known as the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre in 1984 The OCTRF officially designated the quotprovincial cancer clinicsquot as quotRegional Cancer Centresquot in recognition of the contributions in providing comprehensive cancer treatment services to the citizens of Ontario

By 1985 patients needs began to exceed the resources of the Centre so plans were initiated to develop and build larger regional cancer centres

Grand Opening

The new Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre opened on May 4 1992 Now as the Juravinski Cancer Centre the Centre serves over 17 million people in the Central West Ontario Region and offers one of the largest cancer treatment services in Ontario Over 5000 new patients are referred to the Centre each year by physicians in the region

The building was designed to support the Centres belief in providing patients and their families with high quality treatment and compassionate care Areas such as the chemotherapy day care suite feature an open fireplace and natural light contributing to the homey atmosphere

The importance of art in promoting a sense of wellness among patients and staff is valued by the Centre As a result an Art Committee was formed The Committees members include patients Centre staff local art enthusiasts and members of the local art community The Committee works to acquire arts and crafts for the Centre through donations and longterm loans

One floor of the Centre is dedicated to research into the causes prevention and effective management of cancer The Centre is a teaching facility and health care professionals appointed to the Centre have a responsibility to share their knowledge with students in a wide variety of healthcare fields Many staff are faculty members at McMaster University

Cancer care in the Central West Ontario Region has come a long way since 1920 The Juravinski Cancer Centres commitment to high quality treatment education and research ensures comprehensive cancer care for today and the future