Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has unveiled its new $27 million radiation oncology center this week, marking the completion of the first phase of its Cancer Institute, as well as the first time the local health system has provided external beam radiation services to local patients. Located on Sarasota Memorial’s University Parkway campus, the 18,000-square-foot facility is equipped with two Varian TrueBeam linear accelerators designed to precisely target tumors and spare healthy cells from unnecessary radiation exposure. The technology enables the latest image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery to safely treat smaller tumors in the head, neck, lung, breast, abdomen, spine, prostate and other areas. Led by Dr. Kunal Saigal, the center’s multi-disciplinary team includes an on-site medical physicist, medical dosimetrists, radiation therapists, an RN and an LPN working together to develop individualized treatment plans with a holistic approach to care. 

The second phase of the Cancer Institute is a new oncology tower under construction and scheduled to open on SMH’s main campus in the fall of 2021. Both facilities will enable the evolving Cancer Institute to deliver services across the entire continuum of cancer care — from prevention, screening and diagnosis to treatment, clinical trials, and lifetime follow-up, survivorship care and support. The costs of construction are supported in part by a Sarasota Memorial Health Care Foundation capital campaign.