New heights

I am delighted to share with you good news: The University of Kansas Cancer Center is the country's newest National Cancer Institute-designated center. This is a great honor for cancer researchers, clinicians, patients, caregivers and Kansas -- we are now one of just 67 designated centers across the country.

I want to express my gratitude to the thousands of Kansans who helped us achieve this great feat, including the 18 members in the Midwest Cancer Alliance, including Hays Medical Center, the Kansas Masonic Foundation and Masons from every corner of our state, and dozens of corporate and private donors. Without your support, this would not have been possible.

We are proud of what this accomplishment means in the fight against cancer in the Heartland. As an NCI-designated center, we will continue to recruit top researchers, apply for federal funding and open more clinical trials only available at NCI-designated centers. We will continue to extend the science at the Cancer Center to communities across the state through the Midwest Cancer Alliance. We will continue to fight until we have won, and cancer is no more.

NCI designation at the University of Kansas Cancer Center is a huge leap in our battle against cancer, but it is not a destination. We have actively begun pursuing our next goal -- the most elite designation a cancer center can have: comprehensive cancer center status. While this new quest will take all of us working together, it also will benefit many as we expand our research in cancer prevention and control, as well as cancer screening and education efforts, in communities across Kansas.

Thank you for the important part you have played -- and will continue to play -- as we reach new heights in our efforts to eliminate the burden of cancer.

Dr. Roy A. Jensen, director, University of Kansas Cancer Center