10,000 New Cases of Cancer Predicted for Maine in 2022 as New Central Maine Cancer Center Prepares to Open

According to WGME 13, the American Cancer Society expects there to be about 10,000 new cancer cases in Maine this year.

This news comes on the heels of the soon-to-be-open new Cancer Care Center in Central Maine.

The new Cancer Care Center is preparing to open on the campus of the existing Central Maine Medical Center in Lewison, the news station stated, and the center will be about 52,000 square feet in size and offer an array of services to cancer patients.

Some services will be brand new to Maine and not available anywhere else in the state, such as linear accelerators used for radiation, WGME reports.

Central Maine Medical Center's Director of Oncology and Surgery told WGME 13,

"We’ve invested heavily in our pharmacy and lab services here to support the building and the care that we provide. Our patients and our families will have access to their resources right in the building here. With that, we’ll be able to deliver more rapid and more accurate treatment for our oncology patients that require radiation therapy." 

Staff at Central Maine Medical Center say that cancer rates in that particular area of the state are "extremely high," according to WGME. They say that lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer are almost at endemic levels in the Central Maine region.

They go on to say in the news article that this is why they are constantly stressing to patients that they speak with their doctors about getting screened for various cancers to help prevent future tragedy.

The new cancer center at Central Maine Medical Center is currently set to open on June 6, 2022.