FORT COLLINS, Colo. — While Cheyenne Regional Medical Center will open its 40,000-square-foot, two-story cancer center this fall, Fort Collins, Colo. will have its own new 30,000-square-foot facility by 2014.

The Poudre Valley Hospital will break ground on its $11 million outpatient cancer center Thursday. The center will be located on UC Health's Harmony Campus in Fort Collins.

"It will raise the bar on cancer care in northern Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region," said Kevin Unger, president and CEO of Poudre Valley Hospital in a release.

Plans for the cancer center were initially much larger, with what was then Poudre Valley Health System planning a $36 million, 60,000-square-foot stand-alone building.

Instead, PVH decided to adjoin the new space with the existing oncology clinic and radiation oncology department, reducing both the size and cost of the project.

The new center will house research, therapy, social work, labs and rehabilitation, among other services.

The hospital is touting the new facility as more patient-centered.

Meanwhile, CRMC served about 500 cancer patients in 2012, justifying in part the need for its new facility.

"It's just a gradual, slow climb, but we expect that to grow higher as the baby boomers age," said Tammy Thiede, director of oncology services at CRMC in the January print edition of Wyoming Business Report. "More people are coming to Cheyenne for care — plus screening is better."

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