October 23, 2024
“What has happened over 40 years is just unbelievable,” says Don Morris, clinical department head, Oncology for Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, which receives its first patients on Oct. 28. Photo by Leah Hennel.
The Arthur Child boasts state-of-the-art treatment facilities and equipment for cancer, in a bright, spacious, uplifting environment. Photo by Leah Hennel.
Story by Kristen Anderson | Photos by Leah Hennel
CALGARY — When it opened 43 years ago today, the Tom Baker Cancer Centre was the premier destination for cancer care in Calgary and southern Alberta.
Caring and compassionate like its namesake — Tom Baker, an advocate for cancer research and treatment — the facility was a state-of-the-art centre for prevention, research and treatment programs.
“What has happened over 40 years is just unbelievable,” says Don Morris, clinical department head, Oncology for Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre. “Really what it has done is improved all areas. The building itself is dated. Space is cramped but, despite that, it’s still a very attractive place to come to train and to stay.”
The Tom Baker Cancer Centre drew Dr. David Spencer, a senior medical physicist, 30 years ago. And while patient care doubled in size during his tenure, the need for a new facility was obvious.
“There have been two expansions from what it was like when I got here,” says Dr. Spencer, “but we filled the space in about the year 2000, and there was no more space to be had on this site.”
However, the legacy of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre will continue. Since 1981, it’s become internationally renowned and has attracted medical professionals to the city for oncology research and treatment. This legacy, along with the Holy Cross Centre, has now been passed to the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre (Arthur Child), which is set to welcome patients and staff on Oct. 28.
“If you took the square footprint of the Tom Baker and Holy Cross Centre, the research in the Arthur Child actually dwarfs that,” Morris said. “Thoughtfully built, the Arthur Child allows for research to be embedded in pretty much every floor of this building.”
For months, Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff have been preparing for the complex move from the Tom Baker Cancer Centre to the new building across the Foothills Medical Centre campus. AHS staff working in cancer care at the Holy Cross Centre are also transferring to Arthur Child.
Joel Moore is a service worker who’s been working at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre for 13 years. He focuses on the ambulatory, radiation, and surgical aspect of clinics and, at Arthur Child, he’s one individual responsible for ensuring things are running smoothly and properly in place.
“Moving from one house to the other is always a difficult endeavor,” says Moore. “The rooms are empty. There's a lot of things that go into putting together a room from your basic necessities, such as a tongue depressor to a stethoscope, to making sure your autoscopes are working.
“Being in the new building, being able to see patients, being able to see the new ideas of how we can manage a clinic, is what the goal and the dream has been for the last 15 years.”
Carole Chambers, a provincial director of pharmacy in cancer services, has also witnessed the impact of the four-decade legacy of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. And, like many staff members, she’s happily embracing the move to the new building.
“I've been to a lot of new hospitals internationally,” she says. “To walk in here and know this is on Alberta ground, it just blew me away. I have always been envious and taking ideas from other places, (wondering if I) will ever get the chance to implement it.
“To walk in here and have that … I wish I had another 40 years to work. I love it.”
