CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF FOX CHASE CANCER CENTER
For 50 years, Fox Chase Cancer Center has served scientific discovery and innovative treatment. Through its mission-driven culture, Fox Chase has enabled all its staff and faculty — regardless of position, both long-timers and newcomers, those involved directly in patient care and those who support the many other operations of the institution — to claim a personal sense of ownership in prevailing over cancer. On June 18, 2024, Fox Chase honored 50 years of this with a celebration for faculty and employees.
During the event, Robert Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS, President and CEO of Fox Chase, and Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, Cancer Center Director, spoke to faculty and staff about the significance of 50 years as an institution and the excitement of 50 more years of possibilities.
“This has been more than just 50 years in the making. We are standing on the shoulders of people who came before us, and those people gave us a very strong foundation of discovery and delivery. The kind of care, quality of care, and compassion of care that you all deliver every single day echoes through this organization and well beyond into the communities that we serve,” said Uzzo.
“So many great things have happened in these 50 years,” added Chernoff. “We have two Nobel prizes, hundreds of thousands of patients who were treated or cured, and we have been a tremendous force for good in the cancer world and in our community.”
Indeed, Fox Chase’s history runs much deeper than just the past 50 years. Fox Chase Cancer Center evolved from the American Oncologic Hospital, founded in 1904 as one of the nation’s first hospitals devoted exclusively to cancer care, and the world-renowned Institute for Cancer Research, which grew from a research enterprise begun at Lankenau Hospital shortly after World War I.
In 1974, the two institutions joined to create Fox Chase Cancer Center, which has paved the way for collaborative research, innovative thinking, and diverse perspectives that make it a pillar of the Philadelphia healthcare community and the global cancer research and care community.
Following their remarks, both Chernoff and Uzzo were presented with plaques from the American Hospital Association in recognition of the center’s 50 years of compassionate care. The AHA, which was founded in 1899, represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks, and other providers of care with a mission to advance the health of all individuals and communities.
“This has been more than just 50 years in the making. We are standing on the shoulders of people who came before us, and those people gave us a very strong foundation of discovery and delivery.”
ROBERT UZZO, MD, MBA, FACS
President and CEO
“When I think about Fox Chase and all that you’ve done using cancer research to develop life-changing drugs and advancing technology to help patients, it is simply amazing. We are very proud of our 50-year relationship with Fox Chase, and we know you will continue to do great things,” said Michael Draine, Regional Executive for the AHA.
With the past 50 years in the rearview, the future of Fox Chase remains bright with the help of staff and faculty who continue to make the center a unique and sought-after place to receive cancer care.
A note on the photorgraphy in this Annual Report
Unless otherwise credited, all photos are courtesy of Fox Chase Cancer Center Archives