Two-time cancer survivor, Elyse NeMoyer, explains how research helped save her life.

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have made another step toward personalizing cancer treatment while reducing the toxicity of certain cancer drugs using simple, noninvasive blood tests.

From the day Roswell Park was founded in 1898, we’ve focused exclusively on understanding, preventing and treating cancer. But along the way, our work has led to major benefits for patients with other medical conditions — and created valuable tools for researchers in other fields of healthcare.

One reason this finding is so exciting is that we can now focus on the X chromosome to find the gene mutations that put women at higher risk of ovarian cancer and men at higher risk of testicular cancer.

Prospective employers expressed doubt that she was really a nurse or emphasized that even if she were hired, she would not receive the same pay as the white nurses and would have to eat alone, in the kitchen. Those roadblocks were no match for the determination of Eva Bateman.

One day in 1955, Dr. James Grace’s two-year-old son, Jimmy, spiked a fever of 105°. It was the first sign that the little boy had acute leukemia — a fast-moving disease that in those days had no hope of a cure. When his son died only a few months later, Dr. Grace converted his pain to passion.

Although each tribe has its own unique history and culture, one thing all Native Americans have in common is an increased risk of cancer and other diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

With stereotactic body radiotherapy, we can intensify treatment with less overall radiation exposure and fewer treatments. For the patient, this means improved convenience and quality of life and reduced costs, especially beneficial for patients who do not live nearby.

As we celebrate the 120th anniversary of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, we recognize that what we have accomplished would have been impossible without the financial support of our community.