Province commits to rebuild Saskatoon lodge for out-of-town cancer patients

The province announced plans to rebuild the Saskatoon Cancer Patient Lodge Tuesday.

After closing in 2020 when the foundation of the structure was deemed no longer structurally sound, the lodge was temporarily moved to Parkville Manor. The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency has been searching for a permanent site ever since.

"We're really grateful to Parkville Manor. They filled in by helping us provide a service when we needed them, but owning your own facility, there's just something so much better about that," Saskatchewan Cancer Agency president Deb Bulych said.

Reusing the existing space on College Drive is seen as beneficial for the province, the cancer agency and patients. There's no need to find another site and work on rezoning permits, and the lodge will once again be just a few blocks away from the Saskatoon Cancer Centre at Royal University Hospital.

"Person-centered care is something we greatly focus on at the cancer agency. Having cancer is one part of their journey," Bulych said. "The lodge allows us to care about people's accommodation needs, and there absolutely are patients who, without the lodges, may choose to not have treatment."

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatoon area breaking news alerts and top stories 

Out-of-town patients needing a place to stay will pay $40 a day for accommodations, meals and snacks. Once open, the new facility will have room for 33 patients and 17 companions and is expected to see 420 patients per year.

Cancer survivor Terry Gasior knows the value of the lodge all too well. Travelling from Eston for his treatments and follow-up appointments, Gasior said the staff, the food and the accommodations made him feel comfortable and at home.

"To tell you the truth, I don't want to go back. But I miss the folks that worked at the lodge. I really do miss them," Gasior said.

"They took care of all of us. That, I appreciate."

Group2 Architecture Interior Design was selected through a request for proposals "to provide professional project management and multidisciplinary advisory services prior to the design phase," according to a provincial news release.

Formal work is schedule to begin soon, but no opening date set.

"It's important for those patients to be able to have a place when they can't go home that it feels like home, and where they can have a family member or a friend to be there to help them along that very, very difficult journey," Health Minister Everett Hindley said.

"When it comes to healthcare, it's more than just those facilities. It is supports like the cancer patient lodge to make that journey just a little bit easier."

The original lodge was built in 1924 and will be demolished to make way for the larger lodge.

The Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan has committed to raising $10 million towards the project. Hindley said the total cost is estimated at $21 million, but that could change as the project progresses.