Dana Farber Cancer Institute

The Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Boston, Massachusetts has been helping children and adults with cancer since 1947. The institute employs over 3,700 people and has over $800 million in revenue each year. They have nearly 300,000 patient visits each year between pediatric and adult patients and they are involved in over 700 clinical trials.

The institute is one of the principal teaching affiliates of the Harvard Medical School and is a federally designated center for AIDS research. The institute provides advanced training in cancer research and treatment. It conducts community-based programs for the prevention of cancer, control and detection, throughout New England and has joint programs with many institutions in Boston that are affiliated with The Partners HealthCare System and the Harvard Medical School.

Hospitals affiliated with Dana-Farber include Massachusetts General Hospital, Children's Hospital of Boston, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. The institute is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Cancer Institute and by individual contributions and private foundations. The principal charity of Dana-Farber is the Jimmy Fund, a charity adopted by the Boston Red Sox back in 1953 and continues to be their number one charity.

A new additional to Dana-Farber is the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care. The center stands guard over Brookline Avenue in Boston with 14 stories devoted to the care and research of cancer. The center was built for better clinical care, enhance the patient's experience, optimize safety of the patient and providing a nurturing and welcoming environment.

The Yawkey Center has 275,000 square feet of space and provides over 100 exams rooms, 20 consultation rooms and 150 infusion rooms. The building connects to additional Dana-Farber buildings and to two of the partner hospitals, Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dana-Farber also has a number of satellite centers for those people who may have some difficulty traveling to the Boston area.

Purpose

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institutes's mission is to give compassionate, expert care to adults and children suffering from cancer, while at the same time increasing the understanding, treatment, prevention, diagnosis and cure of cancer along with its related diseases.

It is s a Comprehensive Cancer Center and being one of the affiliates of the Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Institute provides innovative training to the new generation of scientists and physicians. It designs programs to promote the country's public health in particular among underprivileged and high-risk populations and provides innovative scientific discoveries and patient therapies to the community throughout the U.S. and the world.

Combined with its mission is the ultimate goal of eliminating all cancer, AIDS and also their related diseases along with the fear they create. Its aim is to relieve the burden that these diseases create through its present and future research, education, clinical care and advocacy and outreach.

The Institute pursues excellence continuously with full integrity in all it does and always adhering to the utmost of standards in conduct. It prides itself in the compassion and respect it gives to the in its care and to one another.

Dana-Farber fosters the spirit of collaboration, inquiry, and innovation that cross over traditional boundaries and is always celebrating creativity of the individual.

The institute carries out its mission through its vast network of affiliated hospitals, clinics, research facilities and educational institutions. Since 1947, they have been providing the local community, the country and the world top quality, innovative and cutting-edge research treatments and follow up with the highest of standards anywhere found in the world.

Its partners and contributors, both individuals and corporations have helped to make new discoveries and advancements in both the prevention and treatment of cancer and its related conditions. The Dana Farber Cancer Institute remains one of the world leaders in research and treatment in the field of cancer.

History

The Children's Cancer Research Foundation was founded in 1947 by Dr. Sidney Farber. It was dedicated to giving cutting-edge, compassionate treatment to children suffering from cancer while developing treatments, preventions and cures. In 1969, the foundation officially increased its programs to cover patients of any age.

In 1974, the foundation was given the name Sidney Farber Cancer Center, honoring its founder Dr. Farber. Nine years later in 1983, the long support of Charles A. Dana Foundation was recognized by the Cancer Center when it incorporated the Institute its current name.

The Institute today has 4,000 employees and over 300,000 patient appointments each year. It is internationally acclaimed for the blending its clinical and research excellence for finding groundbreaking cancer treatments. The expertise of the Institute in the two aspects of fighting against cancer puts the Institute in the position of leading the new generation of researchers and scientists to finding new therapies in both the clinic and laboratory.

In 1948, the Research Foundation had its defining moment when the TV show Truth or Consequences introduced the country to a youngster who was being treated at the foundation for cancer. Farber did not allow the youngster's name to be released so he was referred to only as Jimmy. Through the show over $250,000 was raised and the Variety Club of New England was renamed the Jimmy Fund. Using these donations and a few others, the Foundation built the first building that housed the foundation headquarters, that would later become the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute.

Farber was able to get government funds to help with research and in the ten years between 1957 and 1967, the funding from the government jumped from $48 million to over $175 million. From that point forward the Institute became one of the country's leaders in cancer research, treatment and care. Today the Institute has set an example that is followed by others around the world.

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