Carilion president donates $1 million for new cancer center

Carilion Clinic President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee and her husband, U.S. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, have given $1 million to launch the $100 million Carilion Clinic Cancer Center on the VTC Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, the nonprofit health care organization announced Tuesday.

“Cancer care has long held a special place in my heart,” Nancy Agee said in a statement. “Steve and I are taking this step now to enhance care in our region, building upon the dedicated work of those who have come before us.”

Fundraising will play a large role in how quickly the center is built, and detailed planning is being developed, according to Carilion officials. The new center, which will provide space for cancer treatment, clinical trials and research, is one of several projects in progress, including $1 billion in capital improvements over the next seven years. Roanoke Memorial Hospital will receive a $300 million, 400,000-square-foot expansion expected to take five years, plus $200 million in new equipment.

The cancer center will be built along Reserve Avenue, which is adjacent to the current Carilion campus, and is not part of the capital improvement campaign.

Agee has served as president and CEO of Carilion Clinic since 2011. The nearly $2 billion nonprofit serves more than a million people in Virginia and West Virginia.