Over the course of your lives, there will be countless times that you need healthcare—from receiving a flu shot to treating a cold to recovering from an injury. These interactions, with various healthcare professionals, are often fleeting as you seek the care you need for a short period of time. However, when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, life isn’t just briefly interrupted. Healthcare becomes a constant presence in a cancer patient’s life.
As a healthcare organization, the most important thing we can do for a person battling cancer is to offer comprehensive care close to home. In April of 2016, we opened the Cowell Family Cancer Center, made possible in part by the generous $5 million dollar gift from the Casey Cowell family.
The opening of the Cancer Center helped us realize our vision of a “hub and spoke” model for cancer care in Northern Michigan. Our 7 local infusion clinics—in Cadillac, Charlevoix, Frankfort, Gaylord, Grayling, Kalkaska and Manistee—provide patients with treatment options near home. The Cancer Center in Traverse City serves as the hub for Munson’s Regional Cancer Network, eliminating the need for patients to travel outside of our region for a higher level of care.
From the moment we opened the Cancer Center’s doors, we offered access to the same high-quality care as larger health systems downstate, with board-certified and fellowship-trained oncologists and surgeons, oncology certified nurses and pharmacists, and advanced radiation treatments such as brachytherapy for prostate and gynecologic cancers and stereotactic radiosurgery.
With a holistic focus on prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship, the Cancer Center has also become home to lung, colorectal, cervical, breast and skin cancer screenings, our Cancer Genetics Clinic, and a full range of radiological clinical services and oncology pharmacy services. For our survivors, we offer health and wellness services with our Fuel for Recovery program, wig consultation services, and weekly support groups led by our Oncology Nurse Navigators.
Also, as a testament to the extraordinary work we do and our unwavering commitment to cancer care, we’ve earned accreditations for program excellence, diagnostic imaging, breast cancer, rectal cancer, and lung cancer screening, to name just a few.
A decade has now passed, and we’ll soon celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Cowell Family Cancer Center. Through our steadfast efforts, we’ve continued to bring the most advanced cancer treatments to Northern Michigan. In the last few years, we’ve added Robotic Bronchoscopy Theranostics (for precise biopsies and targeted treatments), Radioligand Infusion Therapy (also for advanced targeting), Paxman Scalp Cooling (to reduce hair loss), and Bispecific T-Cell Engager Therapy (to activate the immune system to locate and destroy cancer).
Additionally, we’ve opened a High-Risk Breast Cancer Clinic, Lung Nodule Program and Oncology Diagnostic Clinic to increase our ability to customize care for our patients. In fact, the Diagnostic Clinic just reached a milestone of helping 1,000 patients.
So, what’s on the horizon for the Cancer Center and our Regional Cancer Center Network as we celebrate a decade of service to Northern Michigan and look to the future? Statistics like these will help define our next steps: On average, 66,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed annually in Michigan. In 2025, our Regional Cancer Network saw more than 3,800 newly diagnosed patients annually, with the Cancer Center serving 2,500 of those patients.
While these numbers paint a clear picture of the work ahead, we’ve also seen a significant evolution in cancer treatments with people surviving longer. For example, immunotherapy has been phenomenal for preventing the progression of the disease. Our job, as cancer specialists, is to keep a pulse on all of the opportunities. There’s a multitude of treatment advancements on the horizon and we will evaluate our abilities to deliver these treatments, make the right investments, and continue to provide the best possible care to our patients.
Later this month, on June 20, I invite you to join us for a special night of summer baseball as we partner with the Traverse City Pit Spitters for our annual “Spit on Cancer” event. Held in recognition of National Cancer Survivor Month, this game celebrates and honors cancer survivors while raising critical donations for the Munson Healthcare Cancer Patient Needs Fund. Throughout the evening, our cancer care experts will also be on hand to share valuable prevention and screening resources with the community.
Events like this remind us why this work matters: Cancer touches all of us in some way. Whether it’s a family member, neighbor, friend, or colleague, we all know someone who has faced the battle. And every day, our regional cancer teams at the Cancer Center and surrounding clinics stand alongside patients in that fight—offering help, hope and opportunities to heal. I’m so very proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last 10 years and I can’t wait to see what the next decade brings.