The Mario Lemieux Foundation 816 Fifth Avenue, Sixth Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 phone: 412.281.3466
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably, invading nearby tissues and spreading to other parts of the body.
In some cancers, such as breast cancer, these abnormal cells form a tumor. Other cancers don’t form tumors, such as leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
While there is no cure for cancer, there are cancer treatments that can effectively slow the growth of cancer cells or stop them from forming altogether (remission).
Oncologists may treat cancers using one or a combination of the above therapies.
Cancer Clinical Trials
Advances in cancer research are happening daily to advance cancer treatments and provide hope for cancer patients. These advances reach patients in the form of clinical trials.
A patient may enroll in a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a new cancer drug, surgery, or radiation technique.
There are also clinical trials for preventing and screening for cancer for those who may be at a high-risk of developing cancer or who wish to prevent a recurrent cancer.
The new Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, being built at Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, will offer comprehensive diagnostic services, individually designed treatment plans, and long-term follow-up services to patients with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and other blood malignancies.
Funded in part by a $3 million gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation, the Center will feature SMART (self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology) technologies in order to deliver more effective, safe, efficient, and individualized care, such as patient touch screens, patient tracking systems, and videoconferencing, all aimed at enhancing patient-centered care.
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 30 - The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and UPMC Cancer Centers today announced the conclusion of a five-year, $100 million capital campaign, thanks in part to a $3 million gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation, which will be used to establish the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers at the Hillman Cancer Center. The philanthropic funds raised were matched by UPMC, for a total of $200 million contributed to the capital campaign.
The gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation helped UPCI and UPMC Cancer Centers exceed its $100 million goal. The campaign was launched five years ago with a $20 million gift from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and the Hillman Foundation, which created the Hillman Fellows Program for Innovative Cancer Research. The campaign funds have been and will continue to be used to recruit physicians and researchers, invest in infrastructure and expand key areas of cancer research.
"The Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers will be the centerpiece for the comprehensive care and treatment of blood diseases for adults, young and old, throughout western Pennsylvania," said Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., director of UPCI and UPMC Cancer Centers. "It will be a beacon for patients throughout their diagnosis and treatment, a key component in moving innovative cancer research out of the lab and into the treatment rooms, and a pillar for recruitment of world-class investigators and clinicians to Pittsburgh."
"This is a new opportunity for my foundation to focus on patient care for those experiencing the same things I did during my journey with Hodgkin's disease, and I am very pleased to be a part of creating this new facility," said Mario Lemieux, chairman of the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
The center, serving an estimated 25,000 patients a year, will offer comprehensive diagnostic services, individually designed treatment plans and long-term follow-up services to patients with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma and other blood malignancies.
"We are thrilled to be able to make this gift. From patient care to translational research, we know our gift will touch many lives in our community," said Tom Grealish, president of the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
In addition to the Hillman Fellows Program and the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, several endowed chairs and endowed funds have been established during this campaign, including the Arnold Palmer Endowed Chair in Cancer Prevention, the Thomas and Sandra Usher Endowed Chair in Melanoma, the Jane and Carl Citron Chair in Colon Cancer and the Stanley M. Marks, M.D., Endowed Research Fund. Critical research initiatives also have been accelerated during this campaign, including efforts to identify nutritional and dietary methods of combating cancer, developing new treatments for melanoma and mesothelioma, and expanding early detection efforts by identifying specific proteins in the blood responsible for cancer development and recurrence.
"It is incredibly gratifying and inspiring to know that thousands of gifts from people and organizations have supported our mission to work toward a future without cancer," said Dr. Davidson. "The investments in our organization during the last five years have allowed us to recruit key researchers and establish new research programs, as well as assist patients who require support during treatment."
About UPMC Cancer Centers
UPMC Cancer Centers offers cancer patients exceptional care and innovative treatments close to home. Partners in cancer care with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), the region's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, UPMC Cancer Centers provides the latest advances in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment at more than 40 community-based locations throughout the region.
Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably, invading nearby tissues and spreading to other parts of the body.
