Where I Stand — Guest columnist Heather Murren: A goal to be proud of

Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004 | 10:03 a.m.

Editor's note: In August the Where I Stand column is written by guest writers. Today's columnist is Heather Murren, president and co-founder of the Nevada Cancer Institute. A CANCER diagnosis today isn't the death sentence it was 50 years ago. Today your doctor has myriad treatments at his or her disposal, and these treatments are a result of one thing -- research.

Every cancer therapy begins as an idea. It undergoes testing in the lab and in clinical trials before gaining approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Nevada is stepping up its involvement in the national fight against cancer with a new weapon: the Nevada Cancer Institute. Research drives everything at the institute, and we provide a unique, entrepreneurial framework for scientists to search for cures for this unforgiving disease.

With renowned scientists, the institute is creating and testing cancer cures right here in Nevada. Our director, Dr. Nicholas J. Vogelzang, M.D., formerly director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center, is leading this effort. Deputy Director David C. Ward, Ph.D., formerly at Yale University, directs the Nevada Cancer Institute's laboratory and genetics programs and is Nevada's first active member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.

Nevada is the perfect location for a comprehensive cancer research center. It's a wonderful place to live, with a community that is bold and young in mindset. A dynamic and optimistic spirit drives our growth and fosters an unparalleled environment for creativity, so pioneers thrive here.

Our scientific team is working closely with the University of Nevada School of Medicine; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the local oncology community; and other cancer-fighting organizations to leverage our state's collective brainpower and unify our cancer efforts.

We understand that cancer patients don't have the luxury of waiting until our building opens in 2005. That's why we're working with local doctors and Nevada's well-established Community Clinical Oncology Program to administer new clinical trials.

The need for a comprehensive cancer center in Nevada is clear. Nevadans don't typically get cancer more frequently than the rest of the nation, but statistics show that once diagnosed, we die more frequently from it. With the support of our community, we can help change that. Curing cancer is critical, and the process of finding its cures -- cancer research -- is critically important to our community in many ways.

As a center of excellence, the Nevada Cancer Institute will encompass the latest developments in cancer treatments, screening methods, technologies and prevention strategies -- and make them more accessible to Nevadans. We will also provide patient and family support services.

By unifying the state's research efforts, we will strengthen our local academic institutions. Ultimately, the Nevada Cancer Institute will help to diversify Nevada's economy by providing an investment vehicle for biotechnology, business and philanthropy.

As the official cancer institute of Nevada, the Nevada Cancer Institute is responsible for coordinating, marshalling and leveraging Nevada's cancer resources and making them accessible to everyone. As a nonprofit research center, an essential part of our mission is to help patients that should and could participate in research-linked care and services do so, regardless of their ability to pay.

To accomplish this, construction is well under way on our uniquely designed 140,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art education, research, treatment and support facility. We are hiring pre-eminent cancer researchers from across the nation. And we are marching toward our grand opening in 2005 -- but are still far from the finish line. This is an undertaking of great significance and enormous magnitude, and ensuring its success depends directly on continued and generous support from private donors.

The Nevada Cancer Institute has been incredibly fortunate. Supporters are generously giving their time, talent, resources and money. A consortium of banks, enabled by the state Board of Finance, supported a $50 million tax-exempt bond, allowing us to borrow money for our facility's construction without creating an obligation for the state.

Land developers, architects, construction companies, advertising agencies, law firms and printers have donated their goods and services. Volunteers, from envelope stuffers to actuaries, have contributed their time. Private donors have given more than $37 million to hire scientists, buy equipment and support programs.

Our governor and state representatives are staunch supporters and our federal delegation has secured important federal funding to help move us forward. This enormous and rapid progress shows what our state can do when we stand together. And it will take many more individuals, companies and foundations to help the Nevada Cancer Institute fulfill its extraordinary potential.

The institute will save lives and lessen suffering. It will attract new citizens who will make their mark on this great state.

Most importantly, the institute will unify Nevadans, giving us something to be unabashedly proud of in a new arena. We will do it as a community, with support from friends across the nation.

The Nevada Cancer Institute will be a crowning achievement of this generation of Nevadans.