Mem Sloan-Kettering Cancer Ctr

Description

As one of the worlds premier cancer centers Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center is committed to exceptional patient care leadingedge research and superb educational programs The close collaboration between our physicians and scientists is one of our unique strengths enabling us to provide patients with the best care available today as we work to discover more effective strategies to prevent control and ultimately cure cancer in the future Our education programs train future physicians and scientists and the knowledge and experience they gain at Memorial SloanKettering has an impact on cancer treatment and the biomedical research agenda around the world

The melding of research with patient care is at the heart of everything we do At SloanKettering Institute stateoftheart science research flourishes sidebyside with clinical investigation and treatment at Memorial Hospital the nations oldest cancer hospital We are also one of 39 National Cancer Institutedesignated Comprehensive Cancer Centers affirming our leadership in research patient care and education

Patient Care

Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center experts have established standards of care and treatment protocols for each type and stage of cancer Our physicians have an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in diagnosing and treating all forms of the disease from the most common to the very rare Each year they treat more than 400 different subtypes of cancer This level of specialization can have an oftendramatic effect on a patients chances for a cure or control of their cancer And while we are known for our advanced innovative therapies our physicians are equally well regarded for their compassion and concern

Our Disease Management Program features 16 multidisciplinary cancer teams Patients are treated by as many different specialists as are needed for their particular type of disease including surgeons medical oncologists radiation oncologists radiologists pathologists psychiatrists and nurses

Our pathologists have unsurpassed expertise in using advanced methods to accurately diagnose cancer Memorial SloanKetterings surgeons perform more cancer operations than at any other hospital in the nation and because of their sole focus on cancer can often use surgical techniques that preserve form and function And our radiation oncologists are developing and putting into clinical practice leadingedge technologies and techniques in radiation therapy In addition the Center offers a full range of programs to help patients and families throughout all phases of treatment including support groups genetic counseling help managing cancer pain and symptoms rehabilitation integrative medicine services and assistance in navigating life after treatment

Research

Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center maintains one of the worlds most dynamic programs of cancer research The extraordinary patient care we provide benefits from our innovative programs in basic translational and clinical research Research at SloanKettering Institute is dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer through programs in cell biology genetics biochemistry molecular biology structural biology computational biology immunology and therapeutics

Investigators at SloanKettering Institute collaborate with Memorial Hospital physicianscientists a partnership that helps speed important research findings from the laboratory to the bedside in a process known as translational research Memorial SloanKettering also actively initiates and participates in clinical trials to identify more effective cancer therapies and our physicians are currently leading more than 400 clinical trials for pediatric and adult cancers

Established in 2005 the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program HOPP is a further effort to increase institutional research strength in areas important in contemporary translational research HOPP is designed to meld even more thoroughly the cultures of basic biologic science and clinical oncology augmenting the work conducted in the laboratories of Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Centers physicianscientists

History

The worlds oldest and largest private cancer center Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center MSKCC has devoted more than a century to patient care as well as to innovative research making significant contributions to new and better therapies for the treatment of cancer

Founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital by a group that included John J Astor and his wife Charlotte the original building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan began its move to its present location on York Avenue in 1936 when John D Rockefeller Jr donated the land upon which in 1939 Memorial Hospital was constructed Between 1970 and 1973 a new Memorial Hospital was constructed and this building stands on the site today

In the 1940s two former General Motors executives Alfred P Sloan and Charles F Kettering joined forces to establish the SloanKettering Institute SKI SKI has since become one of the nations premier biomedical research institutions Built adjacent to Memorial Hospital SKI was formally dedicated in 1948 In 1960 SKI and Memorial Hospital were unified into a single entity Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center



Dr Thomas J Kelly Director SloanKettering Institute and Dr Robert E Wittes PhysicianinChief Memorial Hospital

Today the Center has more than 9000 employees including 672 Memorial Hospital attending staff and 128 SKI members In 2007 more than 21000 patients were admitted to Memorial Hospital and Memorial SloanKettering accommodated 443000 outpatient visits at its Manhattan and regional sites combined

In recent years Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center has expanded with new construction and renovations designed to meet the growing needs of both our patients and our research programs

We have developed a network of communitybased stateoftheart outpatient cancer treatment facilities that bring our expert care closer to patients living throughout our geographical area including Long Island Westchester County and New Jersey

MSKCCs Breast Examination Center of Harlem BECH provides breast and cervical cancer screening at no outofpocket expense to the women of Harlem Since its founding in 1979 BECH has had more than 185700 visits In addition in 2003 MSKCC entered into a partnership with Harlems North General Hospital through The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention to offer the medically underserved population of Harlem access to the highest quality cancer treatment and screening services

The Centers new 23story research building which opened in mid2006 houses many of our laboratories and allow for expansion of a number of our research programs The second phase of construction has commenced on a sevenstory laboratory building next door When this building is completed in 2009 both structures will be joined to create one facility

An exciting new dimension was added to MSKCC in 2004 with the establishment of the Louis V Gerstner Jr Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Memorial SloanKettering A major goal of the school which offers a PhD program in cancer biology is to narrow the gap between basic cancer research and clinical applications by training a cadre of gifted young scientists to attack clinical problems through basic and translational research The first class was admitted in July 2006