UAB Synopsis, Vol. 25, No. 7, March 27, 2006

UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center has initiated a statewide fundraising initiative to replace its Wallace Tumor Institute radiation oncology facility, built in 1976. The “Rays of Hope” campaign set a community fundraising goal of $15 million to build a 50,000 square-foot, two-story building and an adjacent green space, the “Park of Hope,” located at 18th Street and 6th Avenue South.

UAB recently announced Birmingham businessman W. Cobb Hazelrig has given $5 million, one of UAB’s largest single individual gifts, to help build the Hazelrig-Salter Radiation Oncology Facility. The name honors Hazelrig’s parents, J. William and Virginia, and their longtime friends, Paul and Merle Salter, both Birmingham physicians. Now retired, Merle Salter, MD, joined the UAB faculty in 1967 following a residency here and chaired the radiation oncology department from 1986 to 1995. Groundbreaking will take place this spring, with completion scheduled for 2007.

UAB President Carol Z. Garrison, PhD, expressed the university’s gratitude to Hazelrig for “this most generous gift, which gives us enormous momentum toward completion of this important facility. We are delighted the building will bear the names of individuals who have meant so much to this community and to UAB.”

The Cancer Center Supporters group recently surpassed their goal of $780,000 by nearly $250,000, raising a record $1,016,000 for the radiation oncology replacement facility. The total was announced at the organization’s February 27 Gala 2006, a festive evening at The Kirklin Clinic. One-fourth of funds raised by the Supporters will benefit patient and family services, including comforting amenities for all patients, affordable lodging, prescription drugs, transportation and financial assistance for patients in need.

Meeting Needs

The Department of Radiation Oncology has doubled its faculty in recent years, enabling each member to specialize in one or two disease sites. Seven staff medical physicists help design treatment strategies and provide quality assurance as compared with many institutions that depend on a rotating pool of physicists. The department today treats more than 30,000 patients a year from around the southeast.

UAB radiation oncology specialists focus on the future of cancer treatment and, in particular, on therapies that spare healthy cells by tightly targeting malignant ones. “New radiation oncology equipment to achieve these goals requires considerably more space than available in our current location,” says Radiation Oncology Department Chair James A. Bonner, MD, who holds the Merle Salter Endowed Chair of Radiation Oncology. “These include large linear accelerators and other imaging and treatment equipment that will soon be standard for the field,” he says.

“Few radiation oncology departments in the country have such significant research programs. UAB’s department is among a handful earning National Institutes of Health grants,” says Peter Emanuel, MD, acting director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. The department presently partners with Singing River Hospital in Pascagula, Mississippi, on a $3.6 million grant from National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Disparities Research Partnerships Programs. Among other noteworthy examples is Dr. Bonner’s study of small protein molecules as molecular targets that induce radiosensitization, enhancing the effects of radiation therapy.

Urban Oasis of Healing

“Patient comfort will be a highlight of the new facility,” says Arpan Limdi, director of hospital facilities planning and management. “Patient rooms and treatment facilities will feature warm and inviting spaces that provide a healing environment for both patient and staff. The Park of Hope will offer an island of greenery for quiet reflection in the midst of our busy urban campus.”

Hazelrig Personally Touched

Helping UAB Cancer Center with its fundraising goals has become a personal matter for Hazelrig, whose family has been affected by cancer several times. “Birmingham is where I have lived my entire life, and I consider it a privilege to be able to give something back to the community. Each of my grandmothers died from cancer, and both my parents have been touched by this disease, so it’s very important to me to be involved in helping provide quality care to cancer patients of this area. Merle Salter has been with my family through all our battles against cancer. She’s the kind of friend I’d like to be.”

“Naming the building for both a local family and a former colleague and department chair is the right thing to do in this environment where relationships between university and community are extremely vital,” Dr. Bonner says.