On Sept. 22, 2005, the Siteman Cancer Center opened a new center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital.

Ovarian cancer survivor and St. Charles County resident JoAnn Carter explained firsthand why having world-class cancer services close to home is so vital. In 1999, Carter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and turned to the experts at Siteman. She was grateful the drive for weekly chemotherapy was only 30 miles, but it was still challenging. In 2004, her trips to Siteman began again when her husband of 52 years, Darold Carter, was being treated for brain cancer.

After her husband passed away, JoAnn Carter began spending time spreading awareness about cancer. “Cancer patients prefer care right in their neighborhood,” Carter said. “Chemotherapy is exhausting, and I’m thrilled knowing that now there is a nationally recognized cancer center just a few miles from my home.

The new center offers a complete array of services, including medical and radiation oncology; cancer screening programs; and a full range of educational, nutritional, spiritual and support services for cancer patients and their families.

Patients will also now have access to the leading-edge research and treatment studies offered by the main Siteman campus, which recently became the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri — and within a 240-mile radius of St. Louis.