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Chicago header better 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beneficiary

Rush University Medical Center

2016 Funding Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rush Logo new

The partnership with Rush University Medical Center and Swim Across America continues to enrich and support clinical trials through the Rush University Cancer Center that will lead to transformative cancer treatments for the benefit of people around the world.

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HOW WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE 

Since partnering with Rush in 2012, Swim Across America Chicago has contributed $825,000 to the Rush University Cancer Center as a result of three open swim events.

In 2014 and 2013, SAA Chicago event funding supported the following projects at Rush:

  • Fred S. Cohen, PhD, and others are exploring if cholesterol affects the spread of breast cancer. The research could identify a new target for drug therapies.
  • Carl Maki, PhD, and his team are studying how osteosarcoma cells lose responsiveness to chemotherapy in order to improve future treatment approaches.
  • Animesh Barua, PhD, and others are developing a non-invasive test for early stage ovarian cancer.
  • Jeffrey A. Borgia, PhD, is exploring higher-resolution analysis of cancer cells to identify more direct markers for earlier cancer detection than what is now possible.
  • Joshua E. Melson, MD, MPH, and his team are determining the significance of incomplete removal of polyps in colon cancer cases, which could lead to more successful colonoscopy exams to prevent colon cancer.
  • Jitesh Pratap, PhD, is researching whether enhanced imaging can better evaluate if drugs are effectively killing tumor cells, or if the imaging could accurately evaluate the effect of genes involved in controlling cancer growth.

 

Thanks to funding from SAA events, 144 new patients were able to enroll in cancer clinical trials at Rush in 2013. These trials evaluated a range of chemotherapy agents and other medications used alone or in combination with other therapies to treat or slow down the progression of various cancer types. Many of these studies focus on patients with very specific types of breast and lung cancers, as well as blood, bone, gastrointestinal and renal cancers.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RUSH 

Rush University Cancer Center is one of the largest providers of cancer care for patients in the Chicago area. Medical oncologists, surgeons and radiation oncologists collaborate with other specialists and highly trained nurses to provide cooperative, compassionate care to patients living with the myriad forms of cancer.

The center aims to provide cancer patients with access to clinical trials designed to prevent, diagnose and treat a wide range of cancers in a multidisciplinary and welcoming environment. Clinical trials allow patients to access the latest cancer drugs and procedures in development.

Rush University Medical Center encompasses a 664-bed hospital serving adults and children, including the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center, which provides medical and rehabilitative care to older adults and people with short- and long-term disabilities.

Rush's 376-bed Tower hospital building opened in 2012 as part of the Medical Center's major campus renovation. The Tower’s LEED Gold certification proves Rush's commitment to sustainability innovation, as the largest new health care construction project in the world to be LEED Gold certified. Rush's renovation also includes Rush's Orthopedic Building, which opened in 2010, and campus-wide implementation of a new electronic medical record system, enhancing patient care and safety.

Rush is grateful to partner with Swim Across America to expand and further develop Rush University Cancer Center’s program of innovative clinical trials.

Learn more about the Rush University Cancer Center.