A
Symbol of Preeminence
MCG Cancer Research Center Unveiled
Citing “the personal stake [of every citizen] in finding more effective ways to prevent, detect, treat and eventually cure cancer,” Medical College of Georgia President Daniel W. Rahn oversaw a March 10 ribbon-cutting of a facility intended to expedite the process.
Hundreds of Georgians, including many local and statewide dignitaries, were on hand for the unveiling of the five-story, 160,000-square-foot Cancer Research Center. The center will centralize cancer research as MCG accelerates its progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease, with the ultimate goal of a cure.
Funding for the building reflected the collaborative spirit of the facility, with state appropriations supplemented by sources including MCG Health, Inc. margin funds, the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation Inc., MCG’s Physicians Practice Group, the Georgia Research Alliance and Georgia Cancer Coalition.
“The opening of the Cancer Research Center strategically moves us closer to making the diagnosis of cancer a thing of the past,” said Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. “As your governor, I believe our state and our citizens deserve to have the finest cancer care available right here in Georgia. [The center] brings all those goals into reach.”
The facility, he said, will serve as a statewide hub for research, including clinical trials of the latest cancer treatments. He applauded the efforts of legislators, corporations, community organizations and individual citizens to support the center. bottom line is this center is the result of a great team effort, and that is when we always win in Georgia,” he said.
U.S.
Rep. John Barrow, who represents Georgia’s 12th District, related his family’s
grief upon losing a 6-year-old nephew to cancer. “That,” he said, “is proof that
we have to keep fighting to discover the next breakthrough, the next treatment,
the next cure, for this dread illness.”
President Rahn expressed confidence that the center will improve the health of Georgians while vaulting MCG toward national prominence in the field of cancer. “MCG has the capability to emerge as a national leader in cancer research and care,” he said. “Indeed, one of our goals is to earn Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. The building C9 stands as a symbol of our shared belief that we can achieve that level of preeminence.”
Christine Hurley Deriso