Florida Doctor Eyes Site
in Costa Rica
By Susan Jenks, Florida
Today
Dr. Silas Charles, the
founder of Cancer Care
Centers of Brevard,
Florida, said he
recently met with the
president of Costa Rica
to discuss the creation
of a regional cancer
treatment center in that
nation's capital.
"He's a phenomenal guy,"
Charles said, referring
to Oscar Arias Sanchez,
the Costa Rican
president, who is a
winner of the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Charles said Sanchez
expressed an interest in
the San Jose project,
whose estimated initial
cost would be us$50
million over five years,
or us$10 million
annually -- a cost to be
met largely through
donations.
The center, which would
offer comprehensive
cancer care from medical
and surgical oncology to
diagnostics and
radiation therapy, may
be up in running in
about 11/2 years,
according to Charles.
It would employ between
75 and 100 people, and
involve oncologists, or
cancer physicians, from
Brevard County as well
as across the United
States.
The goal is to serve
cancer patients from
Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua and
Panama.
"These are all dreams,"
Charles said, stressing
the preliminary nature
of discussions. "But it
is a good thing, and I
am happy about it."
The Cancer Care Centers
of Brevard has three
locations throughout the
county, with a fourth
center under
construction in
Titusville and another
site outside Brevard in
Sebastian.
Charles opened the first
center on Merritt Island
in 1990. |
|
