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The Campaign for UCSF Medical Center
Use of Gold in Head and Neck Cancer Treatments
Q & A with Dr. Frank McCormick
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Cancer CenterConnection
Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, is the director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) and is Associate Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. McCormick brings us up to date about work at the Cancer Center and the prospects for a cure for cancer in the near future.
What’s so unique about a comprehensive cancer center? How does that help patients?I think patients and donors can find comfort knowing that being a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center is the highest level of recognition a cancer center can receive. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are established by a rigorous evaluation process to exhibit scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches that focus on the problem of cancer.
Spr ing 2012
Stay Connected!UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center • 1600 Divisadero St • San Francisco, CA
Make a gift online at makeagift.ucsf.edu/cancer.
For Patients: 888.689.8273 (toll-free) Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center: 415.885.3693
General inquiries can be directed by e-mail to [email protected]. Please understand that we are unable to respond to questions of a medical nature.
For Patients: [email protected] www.youtube.com and search for UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
www.facebook.com/DillerCancerCenter
twitter.com/UCSFCancer cancer.ucsf.edu/news/rss
QA&HDFCCC is one of 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation. The HDFCCC consolidates the work of researchers and clinicians who are dedicated to four fundamental pursuits: laboratory research, clinical research, patient care and population research. This consolidation helps patients by linking the research bench to the bedside and provides them with the most advanced clinical care available.
What type of research is being done at the HDFCCC?This is a great era for cancer research. Cancer is much more complicated than we ever anticipated because every cancer and person is different. Therapeutic intervention is a major focus, and mapping the best therapies to an individual’s cancer is critical. Right now, we are building computational systems, which are computer simulations of biological systems. We need computational biologists to sequence patients’ cancer genome, analyze the data and take action. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. This is the research challenge of today.
Most people make donations because they want to make a difference. How much difference can someone make with a gift to the HDFCCC? A large part of our success is due to the support of the community, it is our life-blood. New facilities, new talent and faculty all depend on donations. Private funding from donors is absolutely essential. The whole growth of the HDFCCC is tied to philanthropy. We need continued private funding to maintain our world-class programs and to elevate other important programs to the same level.
Who benefits from gifts to the Cancer Center? Gifts of every size make a huge difference. The funds allow us to recruit top researchers and supply them with the tools and technology for new clinical trials, which lead to breakthroughs. Ultimately, cancer patients (now, and in the future) benefit from the access to the latest and greatest treatments and clinical trials.
continued on next page
The new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay project is proceeding on time, on budget and is on track to begin receiving patients in early 2015. The 289-bed children’s, women’s and cancer hospital complex aims to increase inpatient and outpatient capacity to meet growing patient demand, address outdated facilities and comply with state-mandated earthquake safety standards for hospitals.
The 70-bed cancer hospital, part of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, will offer inpatient and outpatient surgery for a broad range of cancer specialties, utilizing sophisticated technology such as robotic surgery and intra-operative radiation therapy.
The $600 million Campaign for UCSF Medical Center has reached 64% of its fundraising goal or $390 million.
Title: Walking Carefully (Pastels) By E.M.O., age 50
This art work was created by a patient coping with breast cancer. She felt that since the diagnosis she had been walking a tightrope, trying to hold onto her balance. The blindfold made it even more difficult for her to understand the unknown.
Art for Recovery is an award-winning program of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in which artists, writers, musicians and medical students encourage patients to express their pain, anger, hopes and dreams through words and images. Consistent with the mission of the University—Caring, Healing, Teaching, Discovering—our aim is to give patients coping with life-threatening illness the opportunity to express their feelings through creative experiences. Art for Recovery will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013.
The Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center (CRC) provides cancer patients and their loved ones with much-needed information and support services as they navigate through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The CRC at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center serves some 12,000 visitors and callers annually. The CRC has over 12 support groups and a database that helps patients locate groups in their area; it maintains a multimedia library with access to specialized health information; and it provides online resources so patients and care providers can have answers at their fingertips for commonly asked cancer-related questions. The CRC assists anyone in need and most programs are free of charge.
For information about services offered by the CRC or to subscribe to the events calendar, email [email protected], or call 415.885.3693.
Learn more at www.cancer.ucsf.edu/crc.
Surgeon and nanotechnologist Ivan El-Sayed, MD, associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF, is working on several techniques to use gold nanoparticles to improve the identification of cancer.
“Gold is very interesting because it has extraordinary optical properties,” Dr. El-Sayed explains. “It is able to scatter or absorb light, and, critically, both of these phenomena can be detected and are capable of providing vital information. Further, gold absorbs different wavelengths of light that, depending on the wavelength, may result in the particles giving off heat to the surrounding tissue or even ionizing radiation.”
What does this mean for head and neck cancer patients? The use of gold nanoparticles has the potential to:
• Improve tissue imaging
• Facilitate for more precise tissue removal
• Enhance the delivery of radiation and cancer drugs to patients
This development could potentially impact the lives of countless cancer patients.
“Our technique is very simple and inexpensive—only a few cents’ worth of gold can yield results. We think it holds great promise to reduce the time, effort and expense in cancer research, detection and therapy,” Dr. El-Sayed says.
UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay at a Glance
• A 183-bed children’s hospital with urgent, emergency and pediatric primary care and specialty outpatient facilities
• A 70-bed adult surgical hospital and outpatient services for cancer patients
• A women’s hospital for specialty surgery, a 36-bed birth center and select outpatient services and
• An energy center, helipad and parking structure
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are the perfect opportunities to donate in memory or in honor of someone special. To do so, please see the Honor/Memorial portion of the enclosed response form or go online at makeagift.ucsf.edu/cancer.
Support for Patients and Their Loved Ones Programs and Services
• Information and Referral Services
• Support Groups
• Benefits and Disability Assistance
• Patient Education Resources
• Activities and Classes
• Nutrition Counseling and Workshops
• Medical Appointment Planning
• Peer Support
• Smoking Cessation Services
• Look Good, Feel Better
• Exercise Counseling
• Therapeutic Yoga for Cancer Patients
• Legacy Project
Art for Recovery
Honor a Loved One
Favorite Music: Classical – Mendelssohn and Sergei Prokofiev; Classic Rock – Lou Reed
Favorite Vacation Spots: London, Tokyo, Paris, Italy
Last Books Read: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov
Birthplace: Cambridge, England
Education: University of Birmingham, England, B.Sc., 1972, Biochemistry; University of Cambridge, England, Ph.D., 1975, Biochemistry
Years at UCSF: 13
Hobby: Car racing
Favorite Foods: French and Japanese Cuisine
About Dr. Frank McCormick
GIFT PLANNINGDONOR PROFILE:
The Borina SistersEmigrants Nicolas Borina and Lucy Secondo met in Watsonville, California in 1917, after their separate journeys across the Atlantic Ocean from the Dalmatian Coast to New York and then to the West Coast.
Nicolas and Lucy worked in the local apple packing business, married and had two children, Mary Ann and June—who were always encouraged to further their education. And they did. Both graduated from Stanford University. Mary Ann then returned home to help with the farming operations. June went on to study law and became, at age 27, the first female district attorney in California. She would later become a deputy US attorney.
Sisters Support Cancer and Cardiovascular Research at UCSF
The story of the Borina Family is one of endurance and determination as well as tremendous generosity to important areas of medical research from which many will benefit.
Decades after Lucy and Nicolas died in the 1940s, both sisters made generous gifts to UCSF through their estates. Mary Ann, who died in 1991, left a bequest of approximately $8 million to establish the Nicolas M. Borina and Lucy S. Borina Cardiovascular Research Fund and the Nicolas M. Borina and Lucy S. Borina Cancer Research Fund. Today, rooms in the new Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building and Smith Cardiovascular Research Building, both located at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus, have been named in honor of her parents. June, who died in 2000, left a bequest to UCSF in the amount of $500,000 and the rest of her estate to the Borina Foundation to benefit causes primarily in the Watsonville area.
In cancer research, a clinical trial is one of the final stages of the cancer research process. These studies are performed with volunteers in order to evaluate a new treatment and are designed to answer scientific questions to find new and better ways to help people with cancer. Patients who volunteer to participate in clinical trials often have the first chance to benefit from an effective new therapy. Clinical trials are available for patients with many types of cancers at different stages. Currently there are more than 265 open clinical trials at the Cancer Center.
Clinical trial availability changes frequently. For information about any of our studies, contact us at 877.827.3222 or email [email protected].
Clinical Trials Provide Access to the Newest Treatments under Development
June and Mary Ann Borina
To learn more about gift planning and receive our Leaving a Legacy brochure, call 415.476.1475 or use the “Gift Planning” checkbox on the enclosed reply slip.
A Healthy Diet is Part of Cancer Prevention
As we enter spring and summer there will be an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables to enjoy. We are learning more about the beneficial effects these plant foods can have on preventing cancer. Researchers are finding that naturally occurring plant chemicals called phytochemicals can influence chemical processes inside our bodies in helpful ways including:
• Stimulating the immune system
• Blocking substances we eat, drink and breathe from becoming carcinogens
• Reducing the kind of inflammation that makes cancer growth more likely
• Reducing oxidative damage to cells that can promote cancer
• Slowing the growth rate of cancer cells
Here’s a recipe you can try at home to get more phyotochemicals into your diet.
November 7, 2012 • Mission BayJoin fellow donors at this year’s 2012 Showcase and Plenary session as we highlight the exciting progress and innovations of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
This event will feature breakout sessions hosted by UCSF experts on a variety of topics that emphasize the critical role researchers play in the world of cancer medicine and how donors like you are vital to our success. Please contact our special events office for more information at [email protected].
2012 Showcase and Plenary SessionSave the Date:
Quinoa and Vegetable Stuffed Bell PeppersServes 4
Ingredients:3 cups cooked quinoa 4 uniform red bell peppers(optional) 8 oz ground turkey breast meat1 onion (any color you like)1 carrot1 rib celery5-7 crimini mushrooms (any mushrooms work here)2 zucchini2 cloves garlic, minced2 tsp chopped chives2 tsp chopped parsley1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oilPinch of salt, cracked black pepper
Procedure:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and scoop out the central section holding the ribs and the seeds, keeping the pepper intact. Place all four peppers cut side down on a lined baking sheet and into the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Then remove from oven and rest until cool to the touch.
If using turkey, brown it in a large sauté pan, breaking into small pieces with a spatula. Then dice all of the vegetables and cook them in the order listed until all are soft but not mushy. Add the minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add the chopped herbs and cooked quinoa. Add the olive oil and toss together well.
Flip the peppers over and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Divide the quinoa mixture into four portions and fill each pepper with a portion, cupping your hand to mound some filling on top if it does not fit evenly. Place the peppers back on the baking sheet and into the oven again at 400 for about 10-15 minutes until the peppers are quite soft and the filling has browned a bit on top. Serve hot!
Recipe from UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center & Square Meals: Custom Cuisine Whole Foods Cooking Demo.
The 2011-12 U.S.News & World Report America’s Best Hospitals survey ranked the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center as number one among California cancer-care providers, and among the top ten in the nation for the seventh consecutive year.
We have attained the highest level of research funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) among cancer centers in California, and the fifth highest ranking among all 66 NCI-designated cancer centers nationwide.
Currently, the HDFCCC has two NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) awards in the areas of breast and brain cancer research. The goal of the SPORE program is to bring together outstanding scientists and clinicians from different disciplines to solve significant problems in cancer research and to accelerate translational research and the development of new therapies.
A World-Class Comprehensive Cancer Center is in Your BackyardQ & A with Dr. Frank McCormick continued from previous page
A cancer diagnosis was once tantamount to a death sentence, but the situation has changed dramatically in the past decade or two. How much responsibility do donors have for this changed situation? How important are donors to advances in cancer research and therapy?We rely heavily on private funds because they are discretionary and give us flexibility. Even modest donations can make a HUGE difference—often that’s all it takes to finalize an important research project. Gifts of all sizes add up and give us the flexibility that can transform the research environment, and keep labs vibrant, operable and innovative. Donor support is essential to the framework that makes up the HDFCCC. Our donor-partners make our work possible.
How close are we in finding a cure for cancer?Some cancers can be controlled and managed, increasing survival time. Only a handful of cancers can be managed to enable a full-life expectancy. Our goal is to increase the number of cancers that can be managed or cured.
Ask Dr. McCormick!Do you have a question for Dr. Frank McCormick? Send it to us on the enclosed reply slip and we’ll ask him your question. It might even be featured in the next issue of our newsletter or on our Facebook page.
by Greta Macaire, MA, RD, CSO, Oncology Dietitian, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Every year, the month of May is dedicated to increasing skin cancer awareness, sharing information on the disease and providing greater access to screening services.
During this month —and all year round—specialists at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center provide care to control and prevent skin cancers as well as design new treatments for high-risk skin malignancies, such as melanoma, basal and squamous cell cancer, and skin lymphomas including mycosis fungoides, a rare form of T-cell lymphoma of the skin.
Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer today with about one million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The good news is that nearly 90 percent of skin cancers are preventable. If caught early, most are highly curable.
Want to know more? Hear a Patient Power audio interview with Dr. Susana Ortiz-Urda, co-director of the UCSF Melanoma Center, who discusses new medications for the deadliest form of skin cancer. Visit the UCSF website at www.ucsf.org and Search: Patient Power Skin Cancer.
May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
My expectation is that there will be some major breakthroughs in the next decade where most cancers will be manageable so the patient can survive to a full life expectancy.
There are dozens of genetic changes that cause cancer. By using technology and computational biology to spot these combinations, we will be able to create therapies that turn off these cancer genes in a controlled fashion. We are one or two innovations away from this. Every three years a discovery is made that changes the field of cancer research. These discoveries have a massive revolutionary effect on cancer therapies.
GIFT PLANNINGDONOR PROFILE:
The Borina SistersEmigrants Nicolas Borina and Lucy Secondo met in Watsonville, California in 1917, after their separate journeys across the Atlantic Ocean from the Dalmatian Coast to New York and then to the West Coast.
Nicolas and Lucy worked in the local apple packing business, married and had two children, Mary Ann and June—who were always encouraged to further their education. And they did. Both graduated from Stanford University. Mary Ann then returned home to help with the farming operations. June went on to study law and became, at age 27, the first female district attorney in California. She would later become a deputy US attorney.
Sisters Support Cancer and Cardiovascular Research at UCSF
The story of the Borina Family is one of endurance and determination as well as tremendous generosity to important areas of medical research from which many will benefit.
Decades after Lucy and Nicolas died in the 1940s, both sisters made generous gifts to UCSF through their estates. Mary Ann, who died in 1991, left a bequest of approximately $8 million to establish the Nicolas M. Borina and Lucy S. Borina Cardiovascular Research Fund and the Nicolas M. Borina and Lucy S. Borina Cancer Research Fund. Today, rooms in the new Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building and Smith Cardiovascular Research Building, both located at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus, have been named in honor of her parents. June, who died in 2000, left a bequest to UCSF in the amount of $500,000 and the rest of her estate to the Borina Foundation to benefit causes primarily in the Watsonville area.
In cancer research, a clinical trial is one of the final stages of the cancer research process. These studies are performed with volunteers in order to evaluate a new treatment and are designed to answer scientific questions to find new and better ways to help people with cancer. Patients who volunteer to participate in clinical trials often have the first chance to benefit from an effective new therapy. Clinical trials are available for patients with many types of cancers at different stages. Currently there are more than 265 open clinical trials at the Cancer Center.
Clinical trial availability changes frequently. For information about any of our studies, contact us at 877.827.3222 or email [email protected].
Clinical Trials Provide Access to the Newest Treatments under Development
June and Mary Ann Borina
To learn more about gift planning and receive our Leaving a Legacy brochure, call 415.476.1475 or use the “Gift Planning” checkbox on the enclosed reply slip.
A Healthy Diet is Part of Cancer Prevention
As we enter spring and summer there will be an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables to enjoy. We are learning more about the beneficial effects these plant foods can have on preventing cancer. Researchers are finding that naturally occurring plant chemicals called phytochemicals can influence chemical processes inside our bodies in helpful ways including:
• Stimulating the immune system
• Blocking substances we eat, drink and breathe from becoming carcinogens
• Reducing the kind of inflammation that makes cancer growth more likely
• Reducing oxidative damage to cells that can promote cancer
• Slowing the growth rate of cancer cells
Here’s a recipe you can try at home to get more phyotochemicals into your diet.
November 7, 2012 • Mission BayJoin fellow donors at this year’s 2012 Showcase and Plenary session as we highlight the exciting progress and innovations of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
This event will feature breakout sessions hosted by UCSF experts on a variety of topics that emphasize the critical role researchers play in the world of cancer medicine and how donors like you are vital to our success. Please contact our special events office for more information at [email protected].
2012 Showcase and Plenary SessionSave the Date:
Quinoa and Vegetable Stuffed Bell PeppersServes 4
Ingredients:3 cups cooked quinoa 4 uniform red bell peppers(optional) 8 oz ground turkey breast meat1 onion (any color you like)1 carrot1 rib celery5-7 crimini mushrooms (any mushrooms work here)2 zucchini2 cloves garlic, minced2 tsp chopped chives2 tsp chopped parsley1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oilPinch of salt, cracked black pepper
Procedure:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and scoop out the central section holding the ribs and the seeds, keeping the pepper intact. Place all four peppers cut side down on a lined baking sheet and into the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Then remove from oven and rest until cool to the touch.
If using turkey, brown it in a large sauté pan, breaking into small pieces with a spatula. Then dice all of the vegetables and cook them in the order listed until all are soft but not mushy. Add the minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add the chopped herbs and cooked quinoa. Add the olive oil and toss together well.
Flip the peppers over and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Divide the quinoa mixture into four portions and fill each pepper with a portion, cupping your hand to mound some filling on top if it does not fit evenly. Place the peppers back on the baking sheet and into the oven again at 400 for about 10-15 minutes until the peppers are quite soft and the filling has browned a bit on top. Serve hot!
Recipe from UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center & Square Meals: Custom Cuisine Whole Foods Cooking Demo.
The 2011-12 U.S.News & World Report America’s Best Hospitals survey ranked the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center as number one among California cancer-care providers, and among the top ten in the nation for the seventh consecutive year.
We have attained the highest level of research funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) among cancer centers in California, and the fifth highest ranking among all 66 NCI-designated cancer centers nationwide.
Currently, the HDFCCC has two NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) awards in the areas of breast and brain cancer research. The goal of the SPORE program is to bring together outstanding scientists and clinicians from different disciplines to solve significant problems in cancer research and to accelerate translational research and the development of new therapies.
A World-Class Comprehensive Cancer Center is in Your BackyardQ & A with Dr. Frank McCormick continued from previous page
A cancer diagnosis was once tantamount to a death sentence, but the situation has changed dramatically in the past decade or two. How much responsibility do donors have for this changed situation? How important are donors to advances in cancer research and therapy?We rely heavily on private funds because they are discretionary and give us flexibility. Even modest donations can make a HUGE difference—often that’s all it takes to finalize an important research project. Gifts of all sizes add up and give us the flexibility that can transform the research environment, and keep labs vibrant, operable and innovative. Donor support is essential to the framework that makes up the HDFCCC. Our donor-partners make our work possible.
How close are we in finding a cure for cancer?Some cancers can be controlled and managed, increasing survival time. Only a handful of cancers can be managed to enable a full-life expectancy. Our goal is to increase the number of cancers that can be managed or cured.
Ask Dr. McCormick!Do you have a question for Dr. Frank McCormick? Send it to us on the enclosed reply slip and we’ll ask him your question. It might even be featured in the next issue of our newsletter or on our Facebook page.
by Greta Macaire, MA, RD, CSO, Oncology Dietitian, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Every year, the month of May is dedicated to increasing skin cancer awareness, sharing information on the disease and providing greater access to screening services.
During this month —and all year round—specialists at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center provide care to control and prevent skin cancers as well as design new treatments for high-risk skin malignancies, such as melanoma, basal and squamous cell cancer, and skin lymphomas including mycosis fungoides, a rare form of T-cell lymphoma of the skin.
Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer today with about one million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The good news is that nearly 90 percent of skin cancers are preventable. If caught early, most are highly curable.
Want to know more? Hear a Patient Power audio interview with Dr. Susana Ortiz-Urda, co-director of the UCSF Melanoma Center, who discusses new medications for the deadliest form of skin cancer. Visit the UCSF website at www.ucsf.org and Search: Patient Power Skin Cancer.
May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
My expectation is that there will be some major breakthroughs in the next decade where most cancers will be manageable so the patient can survive to a full life expectancy.
There are dozens of genetic changes that cause cancer. By using technology and computational biology to spot these combinations, we will be able to create therapies that turn off these cancer genes in a controlled fashion. We are one or two innovations away from this. Every three years a discovery is made that changes the field of cancer research. These discoveries have a massive revolutionary effect on cancer therapies.
The Campaign for UCSF Medical Center
Use of Gold in Head and Neck Cancer Treatments
Q & A with Dr. Frank McCormick
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Cancer CenterConnection
Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, is the director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) and is Associate Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. McCormick brings us up to date about work at the Cancer Center and the prospects for a cure for cancer in the near future.
What’s so unique about a comprehensive cancer center? How does that help patients?I think patients and donors can find comfort knowing that being a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center is the highest level of recognition a cancer center can receive. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are established by a rigorous evaluation process to exhibit scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches that focus on the problem of cancer.
Spr ing 2012
Stay Connected!UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center • 1600 Divisadero St • San Francisco, CA
Make a gift online at makeagift.ucsf.edu/cancer.
For Patients: 888.689.8273 (toll-free) Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center: 415.885.3693
General inquiries can be directed by e-mail to [email protected]. Please understand that we are unable to respond to questions of a medical nature.
For Patients: [email protected] www.youtube.com and search for UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
www.facebook.com/DillerCancerCenter
twitter.com/UCSFCancer cancer.ucsf.edu/news/rss
QA&HDFCCC is one of 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation. The HDFCCC consolidates the work of researchers and clinicians who are dedicated to four fundamental pursuits: laboratory research, clinical research, patient care and population research. This consolidation helps patients by linking the research bench to the bedside and provides them with the most advanced clinical care available.
What type of research is being done at the HDFCCC?This is a great era for cancer research. Cancer is much more complicated than we ever anticipated because every cancer and person is different. Therapeutic intervention is a major focus, and mapping the best therapies to an individual’s cancer is critical. Right now, we are building computational systems, which are computer simulations of biological systems. We need computational biologists to sequence patients’ cancer genome, analyze the data and take action. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. This is the research challenge of today.
Most people make donations because they want to make a difference. How much difference can someone make with a gift to the HDFCCC? A large part of our success is due to the support of the community, it is our life-blood. New facilities, new talent and faculty all depend on donations. Private funding from donors is absolutely essential. The whole growth of the HDFCCC is tied to philanthropy. We need continued private funding to maintain our world-class programs and to elevate other important programs to the same level.
Who benefits from gifts to the Cancer Center? Gifts of every size make a huge difference. The funds allow us to recruit top researchers and supply them with the tools and technology for new clinical trials, which lead to breakthroughs. Ultimately, cancer patients (now, and in the future) benefit from the access to the latest and greatest treatments and clinical trials.
continued on next page
The new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay project is proceeding on time, on budget and is on track to begin receiving patients in early 2015. The 289-bed children’s, women’s and cancer hospital complex aims to increase inpatient and outpatient capacity to meet growing patient demand, address outdated facilities and comply with state-mandated earthquake safety standards for hospitals.
The 70-bed cancer hospital, part of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, will offer inpatient and outpatient surgery for a broad range of cancer specialties, utilizing sophisticated technology such as robotic surgery and intra-operative radiation therapy.
The $600 million Campaign for UCSF Medical Center has reached 64% of its fundraising goal or $390 million.
Title: Walking Carefully (Pastels) By E.M.O., age 50
This art work was created by a patient coping with breast cancer. She felt that since the diagnosis she had been walking a tightrope, trying to hold onto her balance. The blindfold made it even more difficult for her to understand the unknown.
Art for Recovery is an award-winning program of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in which artists, writers, musicians and medical students encourage patients to express their pain, anger, hopes and dreams through words and images. Consistent with the mission of the University—Caring, Healing, Teaching, Discovering—our aim is to give patients coping with life-threatening illness the opportunity to express their feelings through creative experiences. Art for Recovery will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013.
The Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center (CRC) provides cancer patients and their loved ones with much-needed information and support services as they navigate through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The CRC at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center serves some 12,000 visitors and callers annually. The CRC has over 12 support groups and a database that helps patients locate groups in their area; it maintains a multimedia library with access to specialized health information; and it provides online resources so patients and care providers can have answers at their fingertips for commonly asked cancer-related questions. The CRC assists anyone in need and most programs are free of charge.
For information about services offered by the CRC or to subscribe to the events calendar, email [email protected], or call 415.885.3693.
Learn more at www.cancer.ucsf.edu/crc.
Surgeon and nanotechnologist Ivan El-Sayed, MD, associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF, is working on several techniques to use gold nanoparticles to improve the identification of cancer.
“Gold is very interesting because it has extraordinary optical properties,” Dr. El-Sayed explains. “It is able to scatter or absorb light, and, critically, both of these phenomena can be detected and are capable of providing vital information. Further, gold absorbs different wavelengths of light that, depending on the wavelength, may result in the particles giving off heat to the surrounding tissue or even ionizing radiation.”
What does this mean for head and neck cancer patients? The use of gold nanoparticles has the potential to:
• Improve tissue imaging
• Facilitate for more precise tissue removal
• Enhance the delivery of radiation and cancer drugs to patients
This development could potentially impact the lives of countless cancer patients.
“Our technique is very simple and inexpensive—only a few cents’ worth of gold can yield results. We think it holds great promise to reduce the time, effort and expense in cancer research, detection and therapy,” Dr. El-Sayed says.
UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay at a Glance
• A 183-bed children’s hospital with urgent, emergency and pediatric primary care and specialty outpatient facilities
• A 70-bed adult surgical hospital and outpatient services for cancer patients
• A women’s hospital for specialty surgery, a 36-bed birth center and select outpatient services and
• An energy center, helipad and parking structure
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are the perfect opportunities to donate in memory or in honor of someone special. To do so, please see the Honor/Memorial portion of the enclosed response form or go online at makeagift.ucsf.edu/cancer.
Support for Patients and Their Loved Ones Programs and Services
• Information and Referral Services
• Support Groups
• Benefits and Disability Assistance
• Patient Education Resources
• Activities and Classes
• Nutrition Counseling and Workshops
• Medical Appointment Planning
• Peer Support
• Smoking Cessation Services
• Look Good, Feel Better
• Exercise Counseling
• Therapeutic Yoga for Cancer Patients
• Legacy Project
Art for Recovery
Honor a Loved One
Favorite Music: Classical – Mendelssohn and Sergei Prokofiev; Classic Rock – Lou Reed
Favorite Vacation Spots: London, Tokyo, Paris, Italy
Last Books Read: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov
Birthplace: Cambridge, England
Education: University of Birmingham, England, B.Sc., 1972, Biochemistry; University of Cambridge, England, Ph.D., 1975, Biochemistry
Years at UCSF: 13
Hobby: Car racing
Favorite Foods: French and Japanese Cuisine
About Dr. Frank McCormick
