Communications and Public Affairs

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kate O'Brien
Phone: (212) 404-3682


NYU MEDICAL CENTER OPENS A GROUNDBREAKING CLINICAL CANCER CENTER - ITS "MIRACLE ON 34th STREET"

New Building Offers Range of Clinical Cancer Services in One Convenient Location

NEW YORK, July 7, 2004 - NYU Medical Center will open a new 13-floor outpatient clinical cancer center, offering patients the greatest variety of treatment options and comprehensive care services in one single location. Officially opening in a midtown location in July, the NYU Clinical Cancer Center will provide a host of cancer care services, ranging from prevention, screening, and genetic counseling, to diagnosis, treatment, and psychosocial support. With this outpatient center, the NYU Cancer Institute is the only NCI designated cancer center in New York City to offer radiation therapy in a freestanding outpatient facility.

Within the new 85,000-square-foot building, 200 employees will staff several multidisciplinary clinical care centers, with a focus on the care of patients with specific cancers, such as those of the breast and reproductive system, lung, blood, head and neck, and skin. Each specialty center will draw on the resources of medical oncologists, surgeons, nurses, social workers, radiation oncologists, radiologists, nutritionists, psychologists, and patient-education specialists.

Some of the unique features of the NYU Clinical Cancer Center include:

  • A Program in Women's Cancers, meeting the medical and non-medical needs of women with breast and gynecological cancers.
  • A Wellness Boutique, offering products and services for women and men who have had breast surgery or are undergoing chemotherapy.
  • A Screening and Diagnostic Center, with an on-site team to ensure prompt reading of imaging films and test results.
  • An Oncology and Hematology Treatment Center for patients who need intravenous therapies.
  • A Radiation Treatment Center, making the NYU Cancer Institute the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in New York to offer radiation therapy in a freestanding outpatient facility.
  • Psychosocial Support Services for patients and their families.
  • A Cancer Education and Resource Center, featuring a Cancer Information Specialist to help patients and families find relevant information.

"The delivery of cancer care is changing dramatically," said Steven J. Burakoff, M.D., Director of the NYU Cancer Institute. "Whereas patients with cancer once could expect to spend days, or weeks, in the hospital every time they needed treatment, today between 85 and 90 percent of cancer care is delivered in an outpatient setting. This Center responds to these changes by allowing patients to receive compassionate and personalized care in one central location, and return to their homes and families the very same day."

Having all oncology professionals headquartered in the NYU Clinical Cancer Center will also enhance research, making it easier to collect and analyze data from patients and clinical trials. Programs training the healthcare professionals of the future will have a home there as well.

"For more than 25 years, NYU Medical Center has been providing compassionate and personalized cancer care that's based on the latest scientific research and discoveries," said Robert M. Glickman, M.D., Dean of NYU School of Medicine and CEO of NYU Hospitals Center. "As an academic medical center, we are responsible, to ourselves and to our patients, for taking any steps necessary to remain at the forefront of new discoveries and treatment options. This new Clinical Cancer Center, as well as a number of other research and clinical investments we're making, is going to ensure that we continue to provide our patients with the most up-to-date treatments available anywhere. With the proper investments now and in the future, we hope to one day eliminate this devastating disease altogether."

"This new Clinical Cancer Center is a fantastic, and much-needed addition to the landscape of New York," said Ken Langone, Chairman of the NYU School of Medicine Foundation and NYU Hospitals Center Boards of Trustees. "Since its inception, NYU Medical Center has pioneered medical research and treatment. I am incredibly proud to have played a role in bringing such an important healthcare facility to New York City and to cancer patients worldwide"

The NYU Clinical Cancer Center is a $100 million initiative. NYU Medical Center is offering significant naming opportunities for the Center itself, as well as for programs within this state-of-the-art new facility.

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