SANTA ANA : Western Medical Opens Cancer Ward

Western Medical Center-Santa Ana will open its 24-room cancer ward today, permitting patients who might otherwise have to travel to Los Angeles for some treatments to stay closer to home.

Hospital officials unveiled the 14,000-square-foot wing on July 1, as well as a state-of-the-art diagnostic device called a “flow cytometer.”

The $80,000 machine speedily analyzes blood samples with a laser, helping physicians diagnose and treat various kinds of cancer. Previously, such analysis took days as blood samples were sent out of the hospital lab for study, a process that could delay treatment.

Marianne Gonsalves, director of the oncology program, said the expansion project, which cost $250,000, provides space for 41 patients, a 24-hour transfusion room, special family waiting and conference lounges, and a nurses’ station. Also, the oncology program there will provide so-called stereotactic radiosurgery, bloodless surgery that kills small tumors within the brain.

Each of the 24 rooms, which are on the hospital’s seventh floor, have special beds designed to alleviate bedsores. Also, chairs that can be made up into beds may be used by family members who want to spend the night.

Gonsalves said the new ward and diagnostic equipment will speed cancer treatment. “It cuts down on anxiety and waiting time and helps cancer patients get through the time between diagnosis and treatment,” he said. “It will also save them time on the freeway, (which is good) especially for people who have pain and anxiety.”