ALTUS - Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Tuesday for the new Southwest Oklahoma Cancer Centers in Altus, Duncan and Lawton.

The Altus location is on Liveoak Street across from Jackson County Memorial Hospital.

The partnership between the three hospitals, Duncan Regional Hospital, Comanche County Memorial Hospital and Jackson County Memorial Hospital, is unprecedented in Oklahoma and has been in the planning stages for eight years.

Bill Wilson is the chief executive officer at Jackson County Memorial Hospital in Altus. He and CEO's Randy Segler at Comanche County Memorial Hospital, and Scott Street at Duncan Regional Hospital along with other board members of the Southwest Oklahoma Cancer Centers have been working together to bring cancer treatment services to the three communities and beyond.

“The benefit we can derive from our combined efforts for each of our communities will be enormously positive,” Wilson said.

The cancer centers will provide patients with oncology services. Currently, many area residents must travel of out town for their cancer treatments. Having the availability of cancer treatment in the three cancer centers is a welcome addition to the communities of Southwest Oklahoma and North Texas.

"Providing cancer treatment, and having it available in one's own community, is more than a convenience," Wilson said. "Patients who are battling cancer want closer access and don't want to have to drive long distances."

The three CEO's are in agreement about the extreme need for first-rate cancer treatment in southwest Oklahoma.

“We have a great way of life out here in the west,” Wilson said.  “We're enhancing it with the best healthcare available.”

Southwest Oklahoma Cancer Centers is a limited liabilty corporation owned by the three hospitals.