ed vy <= The Seattle Baily Cimes D. 247,540 SUN. 306,612 FEB 13 1972 M4 if ‘Canc er-research center to perform many functions By AL DIEFENBACH i Medical Editor The Fred Hutchinson Can- cer Research Center, which ‘received $5 million through the Regional Medical Pro- gram last week, could re- ceive its first patients late in 1974 or early in 1975. — While that 30- to 36-month interval may seem lengthy, it is only about half of the Oi: spent since late 1965 Pwhen the talks and negotia- tions began among Pacific Northwest cancer special- “$sts, researchers, private and public institutions and government agencies. The delay, in a way, Te- flects the complexity of can- cer itself. The task of coordi- ‘nating the wide range of. re- search efforts and the inter- ests of individual organiza- tions was a formidable one. Then there were the re- quired grant application, which runs to 263 pages and the site visits by government officials and cancer special- ists. © ALL THAT, thankfully, is past. The Washington /Aias- ku, Idaho and Orecoo Re. gional Medical U6 have given ie The University of \ashing- STS rs hic. ton, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, Virginia Mason Hesmial ond the Facile Northwes! Research ¢oundis- ‘tion are “aboard.” — Each will link its special programs into the center. Swedish Hospital will pro- vide the necessary backup services of a major medical center. Dr. William B. Hutchinson will be the direc- tor. The Seattle surgeon, a longtime fighter against can- cer, is the brother of Fred Hutchinson, former Seattle and major-league baseball player and manager, who died of cancer in 1964 at the age of 45. A 24-member board of trustees will oversee opera- tion of the cancer-research center, which is to have 20 beds initially. PATIENTS WILL be re- ferred from throughout the Pacific Northwest to specific programs at the center. Al- though selected for these programs, the patients will receive optimal care through any or all of the center’s specialized personnel, equip- ment and techniques. Besides its treatment and research functions, the cen- ter is to serve as a teaching unit for cancer and cancer- related specialties. Support in funding and in other areas will be available through the American Can- cer Society and its affiliates and the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. The center will be geared toward cancer research in experimental immunothera- py, organ transplantation, radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. Referral patients with any type of cancer, though main- ly the types that are known to spread to other parts of the body, will be eligible for admission. In addition, laboratory re- search projects will be done on immunology, chemical agents that cause Cancer, vi- rology and drug studies. THE CENTER will have facilities for studying cancer as an epidemic-type disease and for collecting data, which will include use of the Regional Medical Program’s automated tumor registry. Plans are to make availa- ble a full range of rehabilita- tion services, follow-up care and social services. Educa- tional services will be through medical schools, community hospitals, grad- uate andundergraduate programs, demonstration courses and medical and lay-community information services. The center itself will be built adjacent to Swedish Hospital and will be connect- ed to the hospital by a tunnel and a bridge. Among the research spe- cialists who will participate in the center’s work will be non Riley, Dr. Edward Per- rin, Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, Dr. C. Dean Buckner, Dr. Al- exander Fefer, Dr. Karl Erik Hellstrom, Dr. Inge- gard Hellstrom, Dr. John Scribner, Dr. Thomas Slaga, © Dr. Ruth Shearer, Dr. E Russell Alexander, Dr. John A. H. Lee, Dr. Ann Carter, . Dr. John R. Hartmann, Dr. Hutchinson and their asso- ciates. THE ESTIMATED cost of construction is $5.5 million, including the $5 million fed- eral grant and $500,000 in lo- cal matching funds, as re- quired under the federal award. The center has projected an estimated $5 million in- come for maintaining and operating the center in 1975. Funds would be from re- search and training grants, © donations, investment in- come and other sources. It is estimated that the cost of care will be $150 a bed a day in 1975 and that - about $200,000 a year (40 per cent of the daily bed-care costs) will be recovered from insurance payments. Patients will -be admitted, however, regardless of their ability to pay. The Fred Hutchinson Can- cer Research Center can now, indeed, continue toward becoming a model of service with a community-wide background and outlook. jemenn ete.