GONZALES — Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center announced Wednesday that its Gonzales location will receive a $2.5 million facility facelift and expansion.

The existing building on LA 30 will receive 6,000 square feet of new facilities, including a 2,500-square foot infusion suite with 14 semi-private infusion bays and one private room, chemotherapy mixing area, retail pharmacy and lab. 

The location, which has served the area for 15 years, currently allows for about 100 patients to be served each month and the expansion will triple monthly accommodations. 

"At Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Gonzales, we know the toll that cancer can have on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of our patients," Ryan Houston, cancer programs administrator of community sites at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, said. "For this reason, we want to make accessing our services as seamless, convenient, and comfortable as possible for patients and their caregivers. With a growing need in our community, we are proud to launch this expansion and showcase our continued dedication to investing in the future of Ascension Parish."

The Gonzales Area Foundation has pledged $500,000 toward the expansion project, Mary Bird Perkins said. 

"Every contribution gets us closer to our goal, and every dollar stays here, in this community, serving cancer patients in need," DeEtte DeArmond from the Gonzales Area Foundation said.