North Shore-LIJ Investing $175M in Cancer Institute Expansion

LAKE SUCCESS, NY (PRWEB) April 11, 2013

The North Shore-LIJ Health System announced today it is making an initial investment of $ 175 million to expand its cancer services throughout the New York metropolitan area. In establishing the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute, the health system is opening and expanding cancer treatment centers throughout Long Island, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island.

Historically, North Shore-LIJ's cancer services have been delivered by its individual hospitals, working through their full-time hematologists and oncologists, and affiliated community based physicians, who collectively treat more than 16,000 new cancer patients every year -- more than any other hospital in the metropolitan area. As part of the health systems new initiative, the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute now has signed on approximately 150 physician members throughout the New York area in 20 cancer specialties.

"Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in this country and aging baby boomers will increase the demand for cancer services, said Daniel Budman, MD, co-director of the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute, and chief of hematology/oncology at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center. Bringing together the tremendous talent and expertise into one group will reduce fragmentation and improve the coordination of multidisciplinary care across the continuum."

To establish a broader regional presence, the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute is investing $ 175 million over the next several years to open new cancer treatment centers and expand existing ones throughout the New York area.

A $ 67 million construction project is already underway at North Shore-LIJs Center for Advanced Medicine (CFAM) in Lake Success, where 61,150 square feet of interior space is being redeveloped contiguous to the current Monter Cancer Center. Nearly 40,000 square feet are being added to the current 37,000-square-foot Monter Center, which has been serving North Shore University Hospital's (NSUH) oncology outpatients since 2006. It will now be the new home for the fully integrated ambulatory hematology/oncology and chemotherapy treatment services delivered by both NSUH and LIJ Medical Center.

In addition, radiation medicine and surgical, gynecologic and neuro oncology services now delivered at LIJ Medical Center and NSUH will be relocated to CFAM, where nearly 50,000 square feet of space has been set aside for three linear accelerators, a gamma knife, stereotactic radiation and brachytherapy services. Diagnostic radiology, breast imaging, uro-oncology and ambulatory surgery programs are already based at CFAM, providing a fully integrated spectrum of comprehensive cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, genetic counseling, nutritional and social work, supportive care and survivorship under one roof all under the auspices of the Cancer Institute.

"Having all of these services available in the same building will strengthen the continuum of care and provide easy access to a full range of services, which is especially important because of the multidisciplinary approach that has become so essential for cancer patients," said Louis Potters, MD, co-director of the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute, and the health system's chair of radiation medicine.

Other investments that North Shore-LIJ is making in its Cancer Institute throughout the region include:

North Shore-LIJ Partners With Women on a Mission to Cure Breast Cancer

Manhasset, NY (PRWEB) April 18, 2013

The Manhasset Womens Coalition Against Breast Cancer (MWCABC) on Friday presented a $ 90,000 check to Feinstein Institute for Medical Research investigators Iuliana Shapira, MD and Annette Lee, PhD. The money will go directly to the Breast and Ovarian Specimen Bank, a joint research endeavor of the Feinstein Institute and North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute. Drs. Shapira and Lee established the specimen bank in 2010 to serve as a vital resource for discovering and validating new biomarkers for the early detection of breast and/or ovarian cancer, as well as predicting the disease course and outcomes, treatment response and risk of relapse.

The generosity of this gift is surpassed only by the love and caring of the thoughtful and foresighted women of the Manhasset Coalition who bestowed it upon us, said Dr. Shapira, MD, a Feinstein investigator who also serves as director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute.

With the strong and continued support of important womens groups like the MWCABC, we have the ability to continue our investigations and seek further breakthroughs on the road to curing cancer, said Dr. Lee, a Feinstein geneticist. We plan to make these amazing women not only proud, but part of our continuing scientific endeavors.

The Manhasset Womens Coalition has been a tremendous force in our community, said Kevin Dwyer, senior vice president and chief development officer at North Shore-LIJ. We are absolutely thrilled to have the Coalition on our side as we take ambitious steps forward with our nationally renowned Cancer Institute.

The two investigators initially teamed up to conduct a first-of-its-kind study dedicated to improving the survival rates of women diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer. The MWCABC funding will go to support their investigation of Plasma microRNAs as biomarkers for predicting the benefit of surgery and adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy to treat breast cancer. Preliminary studies from the laboratory suggest that micro RNA, a genetic marker embedded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), indicates whether an ovarian tumor is benign or malignant, and whether the patient will benefit from chemotherapy after the surgical removal of the tumor. Earlier this year, they were awarded the Alison Conyngham Neisloss Collaborative Women in Science Award, given by the Feinstein Institutes Advancing Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM) organization.

Since their initial project received Institutional Review Board approval in November of 2010, more than 350 women have been enrolled in the breast ovarian cancer tissue bank. Recent published findings identified four main subtypes of breast cancer, one of which has distinct similarities to ovarian cancer. This makes their research efforts to simultaneously study both breast and ovarian cancer even more important in breast cancer research.

The Manhasset Womens Coalition Against Breast Cancer (MWCABC) is an all-volunteer, non-profit charitable organization founded in 1997 to unite the women of Manhasset, Long Island in the fight against breast cancer. MWCABC has been supporting North Shore-LIJ since 2004, providing over $ 300,000 in philanthropic support for North Shore-LIJs breast cancer research and supportive care programs, in addition to palliative care. The $ 90,000 gift is the Coalitions largest gift to date. This gift includes $ 10,000 contributed by the Junior Coalition of MWCABC, high-school aged members who run their own fund raising efforts for financial support of North Shore-LIJ programs, as well as share holiday treats each year with families on the North Shore University Hospital Palliative Care Unit. The MWCABC is also a significant referral source within the Long Island community, with strong efforts in this area by board member Dorothy Forte, who plays a key role in the Coalitions ongoing activities.

About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research: Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is home to international scientific leaders in many areas including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimers disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, human genetics, pulmonary hypertension, leukemia, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. The Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, ranks in the top 5th percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to research centers. For more information visit http://www.feinsteininstitute.org

About North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute: The North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute offers inpatient services at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), LIJ Medical Center, Cohen Childrens Medical Center, Glen Cove, Huntington, Southside, Lenox Hill, Staten Island University, Plainview, Forest Hills and Franklin hospitals. Outpatient services are available at the Monter Cancer Center in Lake Success, NY, LIJ Medical Center, Cohen Childrens Medical Center, Glen Cove, Lenox Hill and Staten Island University hospitals, and physician offices throughout Queens, Long Island, Staten Island and Manhattan. With approximately 150 physicians, the Cancer Institute is comprised of 12 centers of excellence focused on: brain tumors, breast cancer, cancer genetics, gastrointestinal oncology, gynecologic oncology, head and neck oncology, hematologic oncology, lung cancer, melanoma and rare skin cancer, supportive oncology and pain management, pediatric hematology/oncology, and prostate and genitourinary cancer. The Cancer Institute and its physicians are involved in more than 175 cancer clinical trials and have accumulated 30 years of experience in National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical research.

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