Dedication of N.C. Cancer Hospital Highlights New Face of Cancer Care

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- North Carolina Governor
Bev Perdue, UNC President Erskine Bowles, and other dignitaries welcomed a
crowd of more than 500 today to the dedication of the $180 million, 315,000
square foot N.C. Cancer Hospital.

More than triple the previous cancer clinic space, which was located in a
1950s-era building, the new hospital was funded by the state of North Carolina
and designed with patients and families in mind. Completed ahead of schedule
and under budget as an expansion of UNC Health Care's Chapel Hill campus, the
hospital boasts abundant natural light, easy navigation, public artworks by
N.C. artists and top-notch amenities that facilitate both outstanding care and
outreach across the state.

"We are enormously grateful to the people and state of North Carolina, whose
investment in this hospital allows us to deliver the excellent care for which
UNC is known in an environment that reflects the caring and pride we have in
how we treat cancer patients and their families," said William Roper, MD, MPH,
CEO of the UNC Health Care System and Dean of the School of Medicine.

The hospital, clinical home of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center,
boasts state-of-the-art imaging, radiation oncology, pediatric treatment,
infusion and inpatient facilities. In addition, patients and families benefit
from the much-expanded patient and family resource center, part of UNC's
Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, which provides educational materials,
counseling and symptom management services, survivorship programs, yoga
classes, relaxation, an expanded "Brighter Image" boutique providing wigs,
scarves and other products, and a place for patients and families to relax.

Cancer patients like Nancy Raasch of Chapel Hill, who has seen her doctors in
both the old and new facilities, often spend a great deal of time receiving
treatment in areas like the infusion suites. Upon visiting the N.C. Cancer
Hospital for the first time, she said, "Finally, the quality of the space
matches the quality of the care."

For patients like Raasch, the new building means that time will be spent in
expanded infusion areas with space for caregivers and relatives, views of
campus or the landscaped hospital courtyard, the option for privacy and
amenities like individual televisions to help pass the time during treatment.

Today's festivities, including ribbon cutting honors done by cancer survivors
from across the state, were also streamed online to hundreds of viewers via
the hospital's new state-of-the-art teleconferencing facilities, funded by the
University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF).

"These high-definition videoconferencing capabilities allow teams of UNC
specialists from various disciplines to talk with physicians across the state
in real time, so that we can collaborate with them to develop the best,
individualized treatment plans for each patient - an approach that has been
shown to improve patient care," said Richard M. Goldberg, MD, the N.C. Cancer
Hospital's Physician-in-Chief.

"The ability to collaborate across the state is central to our Hospital's and
Center's role," notes Shelton Earp, MD, Director of UNC Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"Our outstanding faculty has grown with recruitment of additional clinicians
and scientists through UCRF support. Together they are making exciting
discoveries. However, this progress is meaningless unless we can make it
available to North Carolinians through clinical trials in collaboration with
centers and physicians throughout the state. Partnerships help us hasten the
translation of new laboratory findings into patient care. The new hospital
and network will provide more patients with access to the very latest
advances," he said.

The state's generous investment in improving cancer care is being enhanced
through private support. To date, 15 naming gifts totaling $1.7 million have
been made for the N.C. Cancer Hospital and approved by the UNC Health Care
Board. Because the facility was completed under budget and debt free, these
gifts will not be used for ongoing operational expenses, but will be
strategically invested to provide support to necessary start-up funding for
unique and expanded patient and family services and to enhance innovative,
early phase clinical research.

"We can't begin to express our gratitude both to the state and to our generous
donors, whose investments help us provide the exceptional services that our
patients deserve. Their gifts to the N.C. Cancer Hospital endowment fund will
ensure perpetual support for these important priorities," Goldberg added.

The dedication also featured the opening of a specially-commissioned photo
exhibit, "The New Face of Cancer Care." The photo display, created by N.C.
photographers Neil Boyd, Rachel Garrison and Tamara Lackey, features survivors
and caregivers and their stories. It will be on display in the N.C. Cancer
Hospital lobby through November 13, 2009. A public open house will be held at
the hospital on September 26, 2009 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. For more information,
go to http://unclineberger.org.

SOURCE UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Ellen de Graffenreid, +1-919-962-3405, edegraff@med.unc.edu, or Dianne Shaw,
+1-919-966-7834, dgs@med.unc.edu, both of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer
Center