Spokane-based Medical Oncology Associates PS has begun construction of a $7 million-plus integrated cancer treatment clinic to be called the Spokane Valley Cancer Center.

The 22,000-square-foot structure, under construction at 13424 E. Mission, is scheduled to be completed in about 10 months, says Dr. Arvind Chaudhry, an oncologist and principal with Medical Oncology Associates. Chaudhry also owns A.C. Investments LLC, which is developing the clinic.

McCloskey Construction Inc., of Colbert, is the contractor on the project, and Denny Christenson & Associates Inc., of Spokane, designed it.

The Spokane Valley Cancer Center will be the third and largest clinic operated by Medical Oncology Associates.

"It will have room for state-of-the art equipment for diagnostics and treatment," Chaudhry says.

He says the project budget includes $4 million for construction, plus more than $3 million for equipment.

Medical Oncology Associates has recruited two physicians who will be based at the Spokane Valley Cancer Center. Up to 10 other physicians—many from other practices—will work there on a rotating basis, Chaudhry says.

The center will open with a support staff of 15 people, with the intent to expand the staff to 30 employees, including nurses, nurse practitioners, financial counselors, psychologists, social workers, and navigators to guide patients through their treatment options, he says.

The clinic will integrate medical, surgical, and radiological oncology disciplines, Chaudhry says.

Under the integrated model, doctors will come to patients, rather than patients having to set up multiple appointments at scattered offices for each discipline, he says.

"Doctors and providers from different specialties will be present in the clinic on specific days," he says.

The center will have its own molecular laboratory, Chaudhry says. Molecular labs conduct genetic testing, which can determine whether certain disorders are hereditary.

The Spokane Valley Cancer Center also will have an on-site pharmacy with a full-time pharmacist, and an infusion area for patients to receive intravenous treatments, Chaudhry says. The infusion area will have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the center's healing garden, he says.

The healing garden will be designed to include a natural setting in the healing process, Chaudhry says. Such gardens are intended to be peaceful places that nurture hope for patients, their families, and the medical staff.

In addition to the healing garden, the center's calming features will include a meditation labyrinth, which will have a circuitous path that leads to its center, with no intersections or dead ends, Chaudhry says.

The labyrinth, a metaphorical journey from illness to recovery, is said to promote an inner-peace state of mind that potentially can enhance the effectiveness of treatment and reduce recovery time.

The center also will offer naturopaths who specialize in oncology, Chaudhry says. Additional services could include acupuncture, massage therapy, and music therapy, he says.

Medical equipment will include diagnostic and radiology equipment, including a computed tomography (CT) scanner, which uses X-rays to take cross-section images, called slices, that its software can stack together to create 3-D images. The clinic also will have a positron emission tomography (PET) CT scanner that combines CT technology with the ability to detect radioactive isotopes injected into the patient to help distinguish cancerous tissue and evaluate metabolic information about it.

It also will have a gamma camera that provides information about the body by tracking the movement and concentration of radioactive tracers.

Medical Oncology Associates currently has four providers, and employs a support staff of 24 people.

A.C. Investments developed Medical Oncology Associates 11,300-square-foot clinic on Spokane's North Side in 2007. The North Side clinic is located at 6001 N. Mayfair, about a block northwest of Providence Holy Family Hospital. Its other Spokane clinic is on the first floor of the Sacred Heart Doctor's Building, at 105 W. Eighth, near Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital.

Holy Family and Sacred Heart are part of the Spokane-based Providence Health Care Eastern Washington network, which is owned by Providence Health & Services, a Renton-based nonprofit.

The Spokane Valley Cancer Center will be within a half-mile east of Valley Hospital, which is operated by Spokane-based Rockwood Health System, a unit of Franklin, Tenn.-based, Community Health Systems Inc., Providence's largest competitor here.

"The location was decided because a medical community is there and the medical community is where people are diagnosed," Chaudhry says. "We want to be in the medical hub in Spokane Valley."

Medical Oncology Associates competes with Cancer Care Northwest PS, a prominent Spokane-based cancer-treatment provider that has four clinics in the Spokane area, including one just north of Valley Hospital, at 12515 E. Mission.

Cancer Care Northwest announced last year that it plans to expand its Valley clinic with a new $8.5 million, 20,000-square-foot center, at 1204 N. Vercler, southeast of the hospital. Construction is expected to start there this summer.