36 | NOVEMBER 24 • 2022 

HEALTH

T

he Idell and Lawrence Weisberg 
Cancer Treatment Center, which 
opened in 2001 in Farmington Hills, 
has been expanded and rebuilt to meet an 
increased need for outpatient cancer care. 
 Idell Weisberg and her husband, Lawrence, 
who died last year, were lead donors for 
the center, part of the Karmanos Cancer 
Institute. The Weisberg Cancer Treatment 
Center provides outpatient cancer care as 
well as mammography for cancer screening 
at a site close to patients’ homes.
According to Karmanos Cancer Hospital 
President and CEO Brian Gamble, the 
expansion was needed “because of more 
business than we could handle. Cancer treat-
ment has become more out-patient.
” 
During the fiscal year that ended in 
September 2022, there were almost 23,000 
patient visits to the Weisberg Cancer 
Treatment Center. 
The original building featured an Up 
North or ski chalet style with lots of natural 
light, high ceilings and contemporary décor. 
The goal was to provide a warm atmosphere 
that could reduce some of the stress of being 
a cancer patient or family member. 
This light and airy feel was maintained in 
the new building. “It was very important that 
we not lose that feeling of serenity,
” Gamble 
says. “We don’t want it to look like a hospital 
— we wanted it to be comforting.
” 
A garden will be planted in the spring to 
offer pleasant views for patients, visitors and 
staff.

As part of the project, the number of infu-
sion chairs used for chemotherapy was tri-
pled, and examination rooms, pharmacy and 
lab were expanded. In addition, a gamma 
knife was installed to treat brain cancer with 
specialized radiation. An Interventional 
Radiology suite will enable patients to have 
ports inserted for chemotherapy. Equipment 
to measure bone density was added to mon-
itor bone strength, which can be depleted by 
cancer and some treatments. In addition, the 
mammography and breast ultrasound areas 
were expanded and reconfigured to provide 
more privacy for patients. 
The new building, which cost $48 mil-
lion, was funded through a combination of 
debt and cash, according to Gamble. It is 

68,000 square feet — almost three times the 
size of the original facility. The expansion 
was approved in 2018 and began in 2019. 
Construction was slowed somewhat, Gamble 
says, by supply chain issues resulting from 
the COVID pandemic. In addition, the 
facility was open for patient care throughout 
construction, which was a challenge for the 
builders. Ghafari Associates was the architect 
for the project, and Roncelli Inc. was the 
contractor. An opening ceremony for the 
new Weisberg Center was held in October.
Comprehensive outpatient treatment 
is available for all types of cancer at the 
Farmington Hills location with the exception 
of surgery and clinical trials, which are pro-
vided at the main Karmanos Cancer Hospital 
in Midtown Detroit. Karmanos is a National 
Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. It 
is affiliated with Wayne State University, and 
some of its physicians have dual appoint-
ments on Wayne’s School of Medicine fac-
ulty. Since 2004 Karmanos Cancer Institute 
has been part of McLaren Health System, 
based in Grand Blanc, Michigan. 

PHOTOS FROM KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE

Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center now offers 
expanded services in Farmington Hills.
Expanded Cancer Care

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LEFT: Jeffrey Zonder, M.D., medical oncologist and team leaders of the Karmanos Multiple 
Myeloma and Amyloidosis Multidisciplinary Team. RIGHT: Brian Gamble, president and CEO, 
Karmanos Cancer Hospital.

Patient 
waiting area
Interventional 
Radiology Suite

