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The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore
Sidney Kimmel's $150 million gift to John Hopkins University marks a new era in cancer research and treatment, according to Edward D. Miller, M.D., Dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. Commenting on the donation, the largest single gift ever to the University, Dr. Miller says, “We stand at the threshold of exponential discovery in the laboratory and the development of new treatments in the clinic. We seek nothing less than the eradication of cancer in our lifetimes. We have a great challenge ahead of us but, with Mr. Kimmel's tremendous generosity, success suddenly seems within our reach.”
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, so named to honor Mr. Kimmel's 2001 gift, is a leader on many fronts. Only one of 41 cancer centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center, the Kimmel Cancer Center has active programs in clinical and laboratory research, community outreach, and cancer prevention and control.
This Baltimore center has internationally recognized programs in the molecular genetics of cancer, bone marrow transplantation, new drug and vaccine development, pediatric oncology, radiation oncology, and brain tumor treatment and research. Great promise for new diagnostics and drug therapies comes from findings like the recent discovery by Johns Hopkins researchers that a single genetic mutation causes about two-thirds of papillary thyroid cancers, a common form of this thyroid cancer.
The Center is also highly regarded for its innovative surgical treatments for head and neck cancers, sarcoma, prostate and pancreatic cancers and for its research involving the genetic basis of colon cancer, the treatment of cancer pain, gene therapy, and new therapeutic approaches for breast cancer.
Patients who visit the Center have access to some of the most innovative and advanced therapies in the world. Because Center clinicians and research scientists work closely together, new drugs and treatments developed in the laboratory are transferred to the clinical setting, offering patients improved therapeutic options. Sensitive to the wide range of needs for patient and family services, Johns Hopkins also offers a Cancer Counseling Center, survivor and palliative care programs, and two residences for those traveling from out-of-town to receive treatment.
In addition to supporting research, the donation will also provide the lead funding for the development of a new residence to serve patients and families undergoing prolonged cancer treatments. Construction will begin in 2004 on the facility, which will enable some of those who are most acutely devastated by cancer -- those whose conventional and experimental therapies require a protracted stay in Baltimore -- to have the advantage and support of a family residence.
Commenting on Mr. Kimmel's landmark gift, Martin D. Abeloff, M.D., Director of the Center, says, “Sidney Kimmel has shown enormous vision and insight into what would make a difference in the field of cancer research, as well as great confidence in our ability to achieve results.”
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
The Sidney Kimmel Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers
The Sidney Kimmel Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers is a service of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the world's oldest and largest institution devoted to prevention, patient care, research and education in cancer. The Center, located in Manhattan, offers comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care of genitourinary cancers under one roof. This approach is convenient to patients seeking diagnosis and treatment for cancers of the prostate, testes, kidney and bladder. At the same time, the organization of the Center fosters valuable research collaborations that advance the standard of care for these cancers.
"Sidney Kimmel's generous support has allowed us to implement a multi-disciplinary program aimed at understanding and treating cancer based on the mechanisms contributing to its growth in an individual," states Howard I. Scher, M.D., Chief of the Genitourinary Service. He adds, "With internationally recognized researchers and clinicians working together in a new state-of-the-art facility, we are able to bring scientific discoveries to clinical practice in the shortest time possible."
Mr. Kimmel's gift of $25 million funded the new building in Manhattan, designed to maximize patient comfort and to provide access to researchers and clinicians. His support has also helped with the recruitment of new faculty, new research initiatives and a therapeutic treatment center.
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