Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center Opens
On Sept. 26, cancer patients began passing beneath the "Lantern of Hope" that marks the entrance to the new Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Ariz.
The steel structure, which is nearly 70 feet tall, rises above an open-air pavilion at the entrance to the cancer center, which houses:
- Physician clinics
- Radiation and chemotherapy treatment rooms
- Diagnostic imaging suites
In this new facility, patients receive the first multidisciplinary clinical care sanctioned by MD Anderson doctors outside the Houston area.
The aluminum leaf and branch patterns adorning the lantern sculpture are designed to look like the paloverde tree. Native to Arizona, the tree is known for its ability to survive the dry desert heat while providing protection for animals and plants under its canopy.
Designers intended the lantern, which is illuminated every evening at dusk and visible for miles, to be a distinguishable landmark of hope in the community.
