Advancing Cancer Care: OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center Expands Statewide

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center is expanding cancer care services across Oklahoma to bring advanced, research-driven treatments closer to patients’ homes. This expansion includes new facilities in Tulsa and Norman, partnerships with regional health centers and mobile screening units for lung and breast cancer.

As the state's only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, Stephenson Cancer Center is working toward achieving Comprehensive Cancer Center status by 2028, a prestigious designation that recognizes excellence in cancer care, research, and education. To reach this goal, the center is extending its innovative, patient-centered care, clinical trials, and leading-edge treatments to more Oklahomans, no matter where they live. This comprehensive approach aims to improve cancer detection, treatment, and outcomes for residents throughout the state.

“Healthcare shouldn’t be an ‘away game,’ said Dr. Richard Lofgren, M.D., MPH, FACP, president and CEO of OU Health. “We know care makes the greatest impact when you can remain in your community. As the flagship academic health system, we have a responsibility to the citizens of our state to offer life-saving specialty and sub-specialty care. No Oklahoman should have to leave to get the care they need, and this expansion brings us closer to this goal.

New Locations and Sites of Care

In April 2024, OU Health announced its expansion to northeast Oklahoma in its mission to provide improved access to innovative, research-driven cancer care to more Oklahomans in the region.

The expansion to Tulsa is facilitated by a robust public-private partnership, including an initial $50 million appropriation by the legislature from the American Rescue Plan Act and the state General Revenue Fund to the University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT). Significant contributions from Peggy and Charles Stephenson, the Cherokee Nation, and other anticipated gifts add to the collaborative effort to enhance cancer care in northeastern Oklahoma.

In June 2024, a collaboration with Hillcrest HealthCare System was announced, with the Hillcrest Medical Center medical oncology clinic and infusion center becoming OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at Hillcrest.

In January 2023, OU Health and Norman Regional Health System announced plans to bring the highest level of cancer care to Norman by building a new cancer care facility to treat the residents of the south metro and south central Oklahoma.

The 50,000-square-foot facility, will be completed in 2025. The facility will combine a full spectrum of medical oncology and radiation oncology services under one roof on the newly modernized Norman Regional HealthPlex campus.

It will also include radiation therapy treatments for more targeted, precise radiation therapy, as well as leading diagnostic imaging services to improve detection and monitoring of treatment results.

Until the new facility opens, the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at Norman Regional – Medical Oncology Clinic is providing convenient access for residents in the area.

Bringing Mobile Care to the State

OU Health is pushing boundaries in healthcare accessibility by extending quality level care closer to home. Complementing this initiative, a fleet of mobile screening vehicles – featuring a new lung cancer screening bus and a new breast mammography bus – will be able to reach the farthest corners of Oklahoma.

“We are investing heavily in efforts to go beyond the walls of our buildings, reaching out into the community and expanding our clinical care delivery network to provide NCI-level care to all citizens of Oklahoma,” said Dr. Robert Mannel, M.D., director of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, associate vice provost for cancer programs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the OU College of Medicine.

Dr. Mannel is also co-chair of NRG, part of the National Clinical Trials Network of the National Cancer Institute. “We are dedicated to various outreach activities focused on prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship, specifically targeting rural areas,” he said. “Collaborating with our American Indian partners, where health and cancer mortality disparities are most pronounced, is a critical part of our mission.”

The National Institutes of Health in 2024 awarded the University of Oklahoma and OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center a five-year, $17.2 million grant to partner with tribal nations and communities to improve cancer outcomes through cancer prevention, cancer screening and cancer care coordination. The Native American Center for Cancer Health Equity (NACCHE) at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center will lead the work of the grant, titled “Improving Cancer Outcomes in Native American Communities” (ICON).

In April 2023, Stephenson Cancer Center received more than $1.7 million from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) to increase access to lung cancer screening in Oklahoma and develop the Oklahoma Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Action Network (Oklahoma LUNG SCAN).

This statewide program provides Oklahomans access to screening in their local communities through a bus that will conduct lung cancer screenings. This service is particularly beneficial for patients in remote communities or those who lack access to hospitals and screening services.

Since 1989, OU Health has provided expert breast health care and screenings with mammograms to thousands of women in the state via statewide mobile mammography units. The units travel to businesses, local hospitals and remote areas of Oklahoma to provide screenings and offer the same advanced digital technology found in the Oklahoma City metro.

Learn more about innovative cancer treatments at Stephenson Cancer Center or call (855) 750-2273 to request an appointment.