Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is one of the world’s premier institutions tirelessly devoted to curing and treating cancer, as well as developing new technologies to help prevent the deadly disease. As the world’s largest and oldest private cancer center, Memorial Sloan Kettering has dedicated more than 130 years to exceptional patient care and groundbreaking research and cancer treatment developments. The prestigious cancer center would not be as globally renowned as it is today, however, without significant contributions from philanthropists and generous, committed donors.
Two of those donors are Henry R. Kravis and his wife Marie-Josée Kravis, prominent philanthropists who have invested a great amount of time and vital funding in supporting Memorial Sloan Kettering’s work.
Recently, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Foundation donated a gift of $100 million to the cancer center, which allowed for the formation of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology (CMO) to be formed. This division of the cancer center was designed to transform and innovate cancer care using cutting edge research and technology, and would not have been made possible without the remarkable generosity of the Kravises.
Advancements in medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering include a new procedure called the “tumor sequencing test,” which was designed to provide more personalized treatment options to patients.
According to Dr. Eva Kiesler, “A new genome-sequencing test developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering allows our doctors to quickly find out whether a patient’s tumor carries clinically useful mutations – including aberrations that make cancers vulnerable to particular drugs – and to match individual patients with available therapies or clinical trials that will most benefit them,” of the advancements in medicine being made at the center.
The primary goal of the CMO “is to expedite and streamline cancer genomics research to guide cancer treatment,” which will ultimately provide better treatment options for every single person who seeks care at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Learn more about the new oncology center and the donation that made it possible by visiting www.mskcc.org.