Lane Regional, the General partnering on Radiation Oncology Center

Lane Regional Medical Center and Baton Rouge General announced today a joint venture to build a multimillion-dollar Radiation Oncology Center on Lane’s campus in Zachary. The new facility is expected to break ground later this fall and should take about one year to build, the hospitals say. Radiation oncology is defined as the use of high-energy radiation to control, shrink or kill cancerous cells, and it’s often used as a curative or controlling treatment, usually in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 23,480 new cancer diagnoses in Louisiana this year, with prostate, lung, female breast, and colo-rectal among the most common. The CDC notes that about 50% of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy during the course of their treatment. “Those battling cancer in our area will no longer have to travel elsewhere to receive treatment because we will have a nationally recognized cancer program right here in Zachary,” says Lane Regional CEO Randy Olson in a prepared statement.