Caring, innovation and a new building offer a bright road ahead for women’s health care.

Thirty-one-year-old Laura Miniotas and her husband Paul were married just over a year. They were planning to start a family when a check-up revealed a cancerous growth on Laura’s ovary.

“After the diagnosis I was reeling from the fact that I could die - and if I did live, we might not be able to have children,” said Laura. “The way you think you are going to live your life, everything…changes in an instant.”

Treatment for ovarian cancer is usually chemotherapy, radiation, and a hysterectomy. However, due to Laura’s age and the early stage of the cancer, doctors at London Health Sciences Centre decided that they could save her chances of having a child by removing only one fallopian tube and the ovary where the cancer had been found.   

Laura and Paul were thrilled. Not only was Laura on her way to successfully battling ovarian cancer, there was also hope for starting the family they wanted so badly.  Then, more bad news: Laura’s remaining fallopian tube was blocked, ruling out any hope of getting pregnant naturally. However, they found new hope in LHSC’s Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and In Vitro Fertilization program.  When started at LHSC more than 30 years ago, it was one of the first programs of its kind in Canada.

Even with the help of the REI program, Laura’s previous cancer made the process more complex. Still, treatment resulted in the birth of twins.

“We cried, we were so happy,” says Laura. “It was great news. We figured we’d have one shot at this so it was wonderful that we had two babies.”

Laura describes her pregnancy as a period of joy, especially after her ordeal with cancer.

“Everyday there’s reminders that this line that we walk in life is a very narrow, thin line,” said Paul. “There’s also a sense that it’s not so easy to knock someone off that line.  You can hang on tightly if you have the will and the support to do so.”

A part of the Hospital’s continual process to ensure the best of care, support and understanding, the new North Tower at Victoria Hospital offers great possibilities for the future. Among other programs, the building will be home to the Grace Donnelly Women’s Health Pavilion. The new facility will offer a ‘high-tech, high-touch’ approach to medicine, combining the technology of the future with the compassion and care that all Hospital staff members have provided since 1875.

“When we were first designing the building, we had the opportunity to sit with a couple of our major donors,” said Diane Beattie, Integrated Vice President of Health Information and Chief Information Officer for London’s Hospitals. “The first thing they said to us was, ‘Make it a building of the future.’”

The building is designed to help the healing process, allowing light and architecture to assist in the well- being of each patient by providing a welcoming and positive environment.  Of course, the building will be filled with the caring staff, clinicians and researchers of LHSC and the advanced diagnostic, imaging and treatment tools they need to provide the best care.

“The development of the new building and the ability to have all modalities of imaging and management for women’s health care under one roof is extremely exciting,” said Dr. Hugh Allen, OB/GYN.

Physicians will have ready access to laboratories and the ability to quickly consult with specialists in many fields of women’s health. London Laboratory Services Group will use 37,500 square feet of space to consolidate the most comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art, specialty labs of any hospital in the province. If specialists need to be involved in a case, they will be close at hand to add to the management of a patient’s care for the best possible outcome. This close proximity will also promote the exchange of ideas between physicians at all levels.

“This really can’t be done unless you have these people in close association with each other where you can talk to them and get their opinions,” said Dr. Allen. “Having the ability to readily access that specialized knowledge will certainly improve and advance the quality of women’s health care. Improving women’s heath care is really what it’s all about.”