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Cancer: Taking a
Stanford Cancer Center
"You have cancer." There may be no other medical diagnosis that stops us in our tracks so suddenly, giving rise to such anxiety and alarm.
The statistics are daunting: This year, more than 1.2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer; worldwide, the number is 11 million and the World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 there will be 16 million new cases a year.
Years of painstaking and intensive investigations into the underlying causes of this disease have enhanced our knowledge of cancer and brought new hope to countless patients. Today more than 7 million Americans are cancer survivors, thanks to research advances that have dramatically improved our ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent this devastating disease.
Dedicated To Healing and Hope
At the Stanford Cancer Center, more than 240 cancer specialists in fields ranging from developmental biology to law, health policy, population genetics, engineering, computer science, and environmental studies have come together, leveraging Stanford's tremendous expertise in the basic biology of cancer with state-of-the-art therapies into a world-class program in cancer care and prevention. We are concentrating our efforts to:
Foster new research breakthroughs: As the world leader in the discovery of human cancer stem cells, Stanford is at the forefront of the effort to translate these findings to new and advanced methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Our distinguished history of expertise in radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and immune system therapy, along with new strengths in the emerging fields of stem cell therapy and nanotechnology mean that we have the tools to tackle the toughest challenges cancer can deliver.
As we seek to classify tumors by their molecular signature, develop non-invasive methods to image cancers, identify new treatment targets, and hone the precision of powerful radiotherapy technologies, we are inspired by the potential to translate these discoveries into superior therapies for our patients.
Translate new discoveries into advanced treatments: For someone facing a diagnosis of cancer, the Stanford Cancer Center offers a welcome combination of clinical expertise and comfort. With a complete array of services including an oncology treatment unit, a radiation therapy facility, a mammography and imaging unit, a specialized pharmacy, and a specialty branch of the Stanford Health Library, the center provides the latest advances in treatment and patient-focused care, including hundreds of clinical trials that offer promising tactics not available anywhere else.
In addition, we are expanding on our already excellent clinical programs by recruiting outstanding physician scientists who can apply our growing understanding of cancer to improved methods of diagnosis and the safest, most effective strategies for treatment.
An Optimistic Outlook
Despite the apprehension a diagnosis of cancer can produce, great strides forward in the laboratory have already led to dramatic improvements in the way we detect and treat this complex disease. At the Stanford Cancer Center, world-renowned researchers and clinicians are collaborating on the most critical issues in cancer research and medicine today. Their groundbreaking work offers extraordinary promise in our campaign to finally conquer cancer.
