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Editorial: A word, not a sentence

From The Dominion Post of Morgantown:
If you’re looking for a new mantra, this one recently came to mind:

Cancer is a word, not a sentence.

Its author is unknown, but what it implies is common knowledge.

Though cancer is two dread syllables, it need not be the downside of fate.

Today and every day, despite Irma, Kim and DACA, the priority and focus for countless families is cancer.

Unfortunately, the burden of cancer in West Virginia is greater than most of our nation and world.

So when the WVU Cancer Institute announced it was undertaking a major expansion for cancer services last week, that was cause for comfort.

As the director of the cancer institute noted in that announcement, cancer outcomes in Monongalia County are excellent.

That’s due to a lot of considerations in residents’ favor, especially the number of cancer experts who are virtually our neighbors.

That’s also the idea behind WVU Cancer Institute’s expansion, which includes recruiting 38 new cancer specialists by 2020. However, in this instance, many of these specialists will be spread across the state to improve outcomes elsewhere.

Many of those additional specialists will staff the institute’s cancer care centers in Elkins, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Fairmont and Oakland, Md.

Two additional care centers are set to open elsewhere in the state in the coming months, too.

Another 100 support and clinical staff will also be joining these specialists in the next three years.

In the interim, the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center is repurposing space in its upper floors to add exam rooms, infusion rooms and physician offices.

That $13.2 million part of this expansion is expected to be completed by late next year.

Certainly, extending the quality of care found in Morgantown across our rural state is a massive undertaking. But what is more compelling is the reason for this investment: The increase in the number of clinic visits at the WVU Cancer Institute.

Compared to this time just last year, these visits are up 27 percent and continuing to grow, calling for more providers and space.

We realize the importance of upgrading our state’s infrastructure, transitioning its economy, balancing its budget and so much more.

However, improving the health of all West Virginians, not just those living in and near Morgantown, is critical as we move forward.

And no one needs to explain the dread and devastation that cancer poses throughout our state.

We applaud the WVU Cancer Institute’s decision to expand its services and take a far-sighted approach to cancer outcomes statewide.

This expansion cannot be described as just the cure for cancer.

But it’s exactly what a cancer specialist would order.

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