Cancer Care - St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute
About Us

A Brief History

St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) was born of vision and necessity. In 1953, St. Luke's organized the first physician "tumor board" to care for cancer patients. By 1957, an isotope lab for cancer treatment was opened, and shortly thereafter St. Luke's started providing cobalt therapy. The fight against cancer had begun in Idaho--at St. Luke's.

St. Luke's physicians and administrators believed, as other community leaders did, that Boise needed, and St. Luke's should provide, a comprehensive regional cancer care center. In 1968, a community task force was formed to secure a federal grant, and by 1971, MSTI became the first comprehensive cancer care and referral center for the region.

A commitment to cancer education, screening and prevention programs quickly became a vital part of MSTI's mission, just as it is today.

By 1973, MSTI opened its first Breast Cancer Detection Center (BCDC) in Boise, one of the first in the nation funded by a special grant from the National Cancer Institute. Now, four conveniently located BCDCs serve patients in the Treasure Valley community, and our mobile mammography coach travels to cities throughout southwest Idaho.

Expanding Our Care

Since 1902, St. Luke's has grown with the population we serve through a community-centered vision of care. Our commitment to good health has attracted some of the country's finest talent--highly skilled physicians, nurses and other professionals who work as an experienced team to meet the health needs of our region. The growth of MSTI services consistently focuses on meeting the needs of our growing community.

As the population in areas west of Boise escalated in the 1980s, MSTI recognized the need to provide services to cancer patients closer to where they live. In 1991, MSTI Nampa opened to serve patients in West Treasure Valley. This facility supports the quality of care offered to cancer patients in Canyon County and also provides complete planning, treatment and support services.

MSTI has recently expanded its services by opening a clinic in Meridian and Twin Falls. Physician clinics are operated in McCall, Mountain Home and Fruitland.

MSTI has a partnered with Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario, Oregon to provide cancer care for patients in that area. MSTI physicians and nurse practitioners (all licensed in Oregon) travel to Ontario or Fruitland each week for patient care. New patient evaluation and follow-up visits as well as chemotherapy treatments are offered at the Holy Rosary facility.

MSTI has also partnered with Magic Valley Medical Center to provide cancer care in the Magic Valley. New patient evaluation and follow-up visits, as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment are offered.

Today, MSTI continues to provide an innovative range of leading-edge services such as blood and marrow transplant (BMT), stereotactic radiation therapy and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. For over 30 years, MSTI's medical and technical staff has provided advanced comprehensive cancer care for more than 33,000 patients from 38 states and 10 foreign countries