Officials celebrated the opening of the new cancer treatment center at UMMC on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The $6.5 million center will provide local cancer patients with state-of-the-art treatment.
Dan Ireland, president of UMMC, thanked the dozens of people involved in making the new treatment center a reality. He recalled the most recent UMMC Foundation Auction, where organizers held a special event with the hope of raising $2,000 to help pay for chemo treatment chairs. Donors that night contributed $26,000, covering the cost of 11 treatment stations.
"For the community, by the community," Ireland said. "That demonstrated in just a small portion what our community can do together to make sure their local neighbors have the access to the services they need."
Dawn Lipson, of the Lipson Institute, and with her husband, namesake of the Lipson Cancer Center, said the institute aims to raise hopes and dreams in the fight against cancer.
"We all hope for a better tomorrow," she said. "We dream about a brighter future. The biggest weapon we have in the fight against cancer is the indomitable spirit. The fact that you all came together, we all part of this big family, and you made this happen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Eric Bieber, president and CEO of the Rochester Regional Health System, came with a gift, the Bell of Hope.
"This is for patients completing treatment," Bieber said. "They ring the bell as they complete treatment. It's a right of passage for their resiliency in their cancer fight, recognizing that making it through weeks of treatment is an achievement. It's our hope that as patients here it, they garner hope and encouragement and they look forward to the day they can ring it."
It was a transfer of a license from another hospital in the Rochester Regional system that enabled UMMC to acquire and install a linear accelerator for radiation treatment at the center.
Suggested Reading: "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
