Carl Lintner
1997-1998 AIA/AAH Fellow
HKS Inc.
Dallas, Texas

Introduction
This article is a summary of information that I gathered during my AIA/AHA fellowship in 1997-1998. That study was based on both my education as a student of architecture at Texas A&M University as well as my experience as a cancer patient from the fall of 1993 to the winter of 1994. These two vantage points blessed me with the ability to see things through the eyes of both patient and designer. Utilizing these two skills, I was able to research, study, and analyze issues pertaining to the patient's environment during treatment. I was then able to develop a consensus of items that can be modified to enhance patient comfort, relieve patient stress, and promote patient healing.

My research was broken down into three major areas. The first portion of this pertains to research of existing cancer information. Within this section I gathered data related to general statistics, definitions, and trends in the treatment of cancer. These reports will help the reader become more acquainted with cancer on a current level.

Figure 1: The MD Anderson Cancer Center, where the author was primarily treated, is located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

The next phase of my study involved performing interviews with and sending surveys to patients and their families, medical professionals, and cancer survivors. These connections helped me establish a broader view by seeing differences between my opinions and those of female patients and elderly survivors.

My final area of study included site visits to seven of the top-ranked cancer centers in the nation, along with studies of other treatment facilities documented from research performed at Texas A&M University with the assistance of Ms. Shae Hensley and Ms. Deborah Herzik.

Also studied was the interaction of smaller, local treatment centers working with and in between services of the larger comprehensive cancer centers generally located in a more urban locale. Throughout my visits, I noted areas where the patient was considered when the design was in development as well as particular elements that appeared to hinder progress of the patient, whether in comfort, stress, or healing.

U.S. News & World Report publishes a list of the top 50 cancer care centers. I visited and toured seven of these facilities.

Abstract

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