More than 40,000 cancer patients will be able to receive treatment each year in the new addition to the Penn State Cancer Institute at Hershey Medical Center, which is expected to be constructed by 2008.

Dr. Thomas Loughran, Cancer Institute director, said the new building will create a fifth facility at the Hershey Medical Center and will also provide benefits for both cancer patients and physicians.

He added that renovations would include a bigger radiation therapy treatment program and larger chemotherapy treatment rooms that will hopefully minimize patient wait times and offer more flexible scheduling.

Hershey Medical Center spokesman Tom Landry said the building's construction will cost an estimated $93.6 million, part of which is being covered by a $10 million grant from the state.

Gary Schultz, Penn State vice president for finance and business, made the announcement that Pennsylvania would help fund the Penn State Cancer Institute at the Board of Trustees meeting, which was held on Jan. 21.

Abe Amoros, spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell, said the money would be distributed over the next four years as part of the Public Improvement Projects fund.

"Public Improvement Project funds are given to projects such as convention centers and other public places," Amoros said.

"The university cancer center definitely fit those qualifications," he added.

In addition to patient treatments, the center will also be used for clinical cancer research.

"There will be four specific research themes to address the following areas: how viruses cause cancer, developments of new treatments for cancer, investigation of how toxins in the environment impact cancer, and how the environment and individual's genetic composition affect predisposition to cancer," Loughran said.

Students at the Penn State College of Medicine will also benefit from technology such as video-conferencing rooms that will allow them to meet with physicians at local hospitals, he added.

Loughran said the center would provide a facility to meet the medical center's cancer needs.

"The new facility will accommodate the majority of oncology-related outpatient activity offered at Hershey Medical Center," he said. "Services will include radiation therapy, chemotherapy and infusion services."

According to the Hershey Medical Center Web site, the current Penn State Cancer Institute was established in 2000 and is made up of facilities at four locations: Lehigh Valley Hospital, Mount Nittany Medical Center, Lewistown Hospital and University Park.