Our patients have told us they would like to see essential medical diagnostic treatment services available locally. Nationwide, studies indicate the need for local comprehensive services. The Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph and Langlade Memorial Hospital are committed to serving the health needs of the people in the Langlade County area. They have maintained this tradition of commitment throughout the history of the Hospital.

To affirm this commitment in 2007 and to respond to the local need for a broad range of cancer diagnostic and treatment services, the Sisters and the Langlade Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees have authorized the development of a new Radiation Care Center on the Hospital’s campus.   

The Cancer Center will require 7,599 square feet of space. The space requirements call for the construction of a new 5,358 square foot single story building attached to the St. Joseph’s Outpatient Center. The new building is specially designed and constructed to house the linear accelerator and contain the high radiation energy. An additional 2,241 square feet in the existing St. Joseph’s Outpatient Center, adjacent to the new building, will be remodeled to accommodate the remainder of the radiation care structure.

The radiation treatment technology that Langlade Memorial Hospital will provide is the Intensity Modulation Radiation Therapy (IMRT) - the same up-to-date technology available in leading IMRT treatment centers. The IMRT technology uses a linear accelerator that generates high precision radiotherapy to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. Radiation therapy stops cancer cells from dividing and growing, thus slowing tumor growth. In many cases, radiation therapy is capable of killing cancer cells, thus shrinking or eliminating tumors.

This up-to-date technology will be available for the first time in Antigo. The 26,000 people we serve who live in Langlade County and the surrounding area will be able to receive their cancer care closer to home where they will be treated not as a statistic but with the dignity and respect they deserve. The result will be Hope and Healing Closer to Home.

The cost of this project, including the new building, remodeling of the related existing space and the new equipment, is estimated at $3.6 million. The cost estimate includes approximately $2.4 million in construction and remodeling costs to develop the facility; an additional $750,000 for acquisition and installation of the linear accelerator; and $450,000 for medical equipment, patient support equipment, computers and related technology, support staff work stations, and furnishings.

The Community Health Foundation has accepted the challenge to raise $1.3 million toward the cost of the project. The remainder of the project will be financed through the use of funds from the Langlade Memorial Hospital cash reserves and, only if necessary, through commercial borrowing. The result will be an excellent radiation treatment center, providing the latest technology for cancer therapy and continuing Langlade Memorial Hospital’s tradition of serving area families with quality healthcare in a compassionate and comfortable environment.

“Establishing Radiation Oncology services at Langlade Memorial Hospital fulfills the hopes and dreams of countless cancer patients, past and present. This achievement enables a complete spectrum of cancer-related services to be provided to our community right here in Antigo.”

~ Umang Gautam, MD ~