Finish Cancer Case for Support

Your support will: Increase bench-to-bedside research: The more scientific research our team of immunotherapy and genomics experts can perform in our labs, the more options we can translate to patients at the bedside, bringing more breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy. For cancer patients and their loved ones, time is a precious gift.

How you can help Give

Get involved

Grow our investigative team: The success of our efforts will be only as good as the people chosen to lead our work. We know that recruiting and training the very brightest minds is the key to a future without cancer.

Make a gift to Providence in support of cancer research.

Take a tour, meet our research team or attend a gathering in person or at a virtual event.

Provide whole-person care for patients and families: We believe in caring for the whole person and supporting the families of those in our care. Our patient advocates, nurse navigators, oncology social workers, survivorship team, oncology palliative care, nutrition and integrative medicine services greatly improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.

Introduce

Remember

Secure the future through endowments: Through endowments, our researchers are able to ask the big questions, explore new ideas, and collaborate worldwide in pursuit of new breakthroughs, all while knowing that their work will have sustained funding.

Share information about our work with others, host Providence Cancer Institute tours or plan gatherings for friends.

Remember Providence in your will or estate plan to ensure the future of cancer research, treatment and care.

For more information on how you can help, contact Shari Lynn Scales at 971-358-6452 or Shari.Scales@providence.org

OUR MISSION

Cancer and your genome Your genome is the unique collection of DNA in your cells that encodes everything from hair and eye color to how you taste different foods. It also plays a role in how and when you get sick, how you recover and how your body responds to different treatments.

Cancer occurs when certain changes to the genome, called mutations, change how our cells grow and divide. Mutations can occur in different ways, some environmental and some inherited from our parents.

The good news is that many of the mutations that cause cancer are also weaknesses that we can target to kill cancer cells. By sequencing the genome of your tumor, we can work to map out these mutations to develop a personalized treatment plan.

As expressions of God’s healing love, witnessed through the ministry of Jesus, we are steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.

OUR CORE VALUES

Compassion, Dignity, Justice, Excellence, Integrity

FinishCancer.org/oregon

Renee received life-saving treatment at Providence Cancer Institute for her rare form of lymphoma.

What if the body’s immune system could identify and destroy cancer cells?

Renee wasn’t going to let cancer defeat her. She found a clinical trial led

by Dr. John Godwin at Providence that gave her hope for the future.

When Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., joined Providence Portland Medical Center as director of the cancer program in 1993, only a few scientists were asking that simple “what if” question about the role of immunotherapy and cancer.

That didn’t stop him or his team of pioneers. Today the cancer research team at Providence has proven immunotherapy can fight cancer. Coupled with advancements in cancer genome sequencing – known as precision oncology – we are saving more lives today than ever before. If has become when.

If we’re still treating cancer the same way next year that we are today, then we’re not doing our job.

– Walter Urba, M.D., Ph.D.

At Providence, we are constantly innovating, improving every day, and reaching for a future without cancer. Today’s treatments are better than those of yesterday’s, but they are still not good enough. We need tomorrow’s treatments to get us even closer to finishing cancer.

Cancer isn’t going away. It’s sneaky, changing and finding new ways to invade.

Immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, and we want to find out why. We are harnessing the power of genomic sequencing and the power of immunotherapy to develop more effective, personalized therapies, so that more people have hope - hope for more time, more moments with the people they love.

We can’t do it without you.

Donors provide 70 percent of our research funding. You are the catalyst.

Without you, we can’t push the limits of research. We believe we’ve got cancer on the run. With your help, we can finish it for good.

Stefano has more moments with his daughter.

Treated for testicular cancer, he is alive because of progress made in cancer research.

Renee had nothing to lose When a glossy red patch appeared on Renee Tolleshaug’s leg, she knew she needed to have it examined. A biopsy of the spot returned a diagnosis of primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type. It’s a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma.

Traditional cancer treatment worked for about a year-and-a-half. Then, a PET scan showed the lymphoma had returned and was in other parts of her body. “It’s like it had a life of its own,” said Renee.

When her oncologist suggested hospice, Renee sprang into action. She had seen a news story about a clinical trial offered at Providence called CAR T-cell therapy. The patient in the story had the same type lymphoma she did. John Godwin, M.D., was leading the trial at Providence.

Renee called Providence and within two weeks was accepted into the trial. Her T-cells were extracted and shipped out so they could be genetically engineered to attack the blood cancer cells, a process that takes about three weeks.

After a single infusion of the re-engineered T cells, we will usually see a complete response in patients within a month. It is the power of philanthropy that helps us create new treatments for patients like Renee, giving them hope for a better life.

– John Godwin, M.D.

While waiting for the modified cells, Renee became sick and Dr. Godwin did not want to infuse the new cells until she recovered. In the interim, to keep her cancer at bay, Renee received a bridge therapy that worked for six months until her lymphoma returned. Then she received the re-engineered cells.

“When you know your life is severely threatened and you have the opportunity to try cutting-edge, possibly life-saving treatment, well … I had nothing to lose and I knew it.”

Renee felt more energetic, positive, and hopeful within two weeks of the CAR T treatment. “It’s not like it just saved my life, it gave me a new one,” she said.

“I can’t describe how much better I feel.”

Our Milestones 1987

2008

Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Portland Medical Center is dedicated.

First patient in the world receives DRibble, a lung cancer vaccine developed at Providence.

1993

2009

Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., is recruited to start cancer program at Earle A. Chiles Research Institute.

World’s first patient treated with immune-activating IL-2 and highly-targeted radiation therapy.

2011

2016

First patient in the world receives combination immunotherapy for ovarian cancer

2017

Providence Cancer Center becomes Robert W. Franz Cancer Center in honor of the lifetime support and generosity of Bob Franz.

2017

First patient in Oregon receives adoptive cell therapy for kidney cancer.

International trial led by Dr. Urba results in first immunotherapy drug that improves melanoma survival rates. FDA approval of ipilimumab soon follows.

1995

2012

Providence becomes a leader in precision oncology through expansion of our Molecular Genomics Lab.

1994

World’s first treatment for late-stage melanoma using patient-derived tumor vaccine with adoptive cellular therapy and IL-2 is offered.

Providence is chosen as a founding member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb International Immuno-Oncology Network.

1996

2012

Providence is the first in Oregon to test a genetically modified breast cancer vaccine.

2000

Oregon’s first experimental prostate cancer vaccine, now known as Provenge, is administered.

2006

First patient in the world receives treatment to target and stimulate OX40 after donors give $2.4M for the clinical trial.

2008

Donors generously give $74M to the “Providence Together” campaign, to build the 200,000-square-foot Providence Cancer Center, housing all cancer services under one roof.

First patient in Oregon receives nivolumab at Providence to treat melanoma and lung cancer, resulting in FDA approval three years later.

2013

The journal Science names cancer immunotherapy the “Breakthrough of the Year.”

2015

Thanks to donors, the new Providence Guest House opens.

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for multiple cancers with shared genetic profile.

2018

2018

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for breast cancer.

2018

Providence played key role in Nobelwinning immunotherapy research.

2019

First global study to test neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy as a safe means of down-staging head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

2019

First epithelial cancer patient in Oregon treated with adoptive cellular therapy.

2020

Providence becomes first health system in Oregon to test for COVID-19 and offer health care workers antibody testing.

What if the body’s immune system could identify and destroy cancer cells?

Renee wasn’t going to let cancer defeat her. She found a clinical trial led

by Dr. John Godwin at Providence that gave her hope for the future.

When Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., joined Providence Portland Medical Center as director of the cancer program in 1993, only a few scientists were asking that simple “what if” question about the role of immunotherapy and cancer.

That didn’t stop him or his team of pioneers. Today the cancer research team at Providence has proven immunotherapy can fight cancer. Coupled with advancements in cancer genome sequencing – known as precision oncology – we are saving more lives today than ever before. If has become when.

If we’re still treating cancer the same way next year that we are today, then we’re not doing our job.

– Walter Urba, M.D., Ph.D.

At Providence, we are constantly innovating, improving every day, and reaching for a future without cancer. Today’s treatments are better than those of yesterday’s, but they are still not good enough. We need tomorrow’s treatments to get us even closer to finishing cancer.

Cancer isn’t going away. It’s sneaky, changing and finding new ways to invade.

Immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, and we want to find out why. We are harnessing the power of genomic sequencing and the power of immunotherapy to develop more effective, personalized therapies, so that more people have hope - hope for more time, more moments with the people they love.

We can’t do it without you.

Donors provide 70 percent of our research funding. You are the catalyst.

Without you, we can’t push the limits of research. We believe we’ve got cancer on the run. With your help, we can finish it for good.

Stefano has more moments with his daughter.

Treated for testicular cancer, he is alive because of progress made in cancer research.

Renee had nothing to lose When a glossy red patch appeared on Renee Tolleshaug’s leg, she knew she needed to have it examined. A biopsy of the spot returned a diagnosis of primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type. It’s a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma.

Traditional cancer treatment worked for about a year-and-a-half. Then, a PET scan showed the lymphoma had returned and was in other parts of her body. “It’s like it had a life of its own,” said Renee.

When her oncologist suggested hospice, Renee sprang into action. She had seen a news story about a clinical trial offered at Providence called CAR T-cell therapy. The patient in the story had the same type lymphoma she did. John Godwin, M.D., was leading the trial at Providence.

Renee called Providence and within two weeks was accepted into the trial. Her T-cells were extracted and shipped out so they could be genetically engineered to attack the blood cancer cells, a process that takes about three weeks.

After a single infusion of the re-engineered T cells, we will usually see a complete response in patients within a month. It is the power of philanthropy that helps us create new treatments for patients like Renee, giving them hope for a better life.

– John Godwin, M.D.

While waiting for the modified cells, Renee became sick and Dr. Godwin did not want to infuse the new cells until she recovered. In the interim, to keep her cancer at bay, Renee received a bridge therapy that worked for six months until her lymphoma returned. Then she received the re-engineered cells.

“When you know your life is severely threatened and you have the opportunity to try cutting-edge, possibly life-saving treatment, well … I had nothing to lose and I knew it.”

Renee felt more energetic, positive, and hopeful within two weeks of the CAR T treatment. “It’s not like it just saved my life, it gave me a new one,” she said.

“I can’t describe how much better I feel.”

Our Milestones 1987

2008

Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Portland Medical Center is dedicated.

First patient in the world receives DRibble, a lung cancer vaccine developed at Providence.

1993

2009

Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., is recruited to start cancer program at Earle A. Chiles Research Institute.

World’s first patient treated with immune-activating IL-2 and highly-targeted radiation therapy.

2011

2016

First patient in the world receives combination immunotherapy for ovarian cancer

2017

Providence Cancer Center becomes Robert W. Franz Cancer Center in honor of the lifetime support and generosity of Bob Franz.

2017

First patient in Oregon receives adoptive cell therapy for kidney cancer.

International trial led by Dr. Urba results in first immunotherapy drug that improves melanoma survival rates. FDA approval of ipilimumab soon follows.

1995

2012

Providence becomes a leader in precision oncology through expansion of our Molecular Genomics Lab.

1994

World’s first treatment for late-stage melanoma using patient-derived tumor vaccine with adoptive cellular therapy and IL-2 is offered.

Providence is chosen as a founding member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb International Immuno-Oncology Network.

1996

2012

Providence is the first in Oregon to test a genetically modified breast cancer vaccine.

2000

Oregon’s first experimental prostate cancer vaccine, now known as Provenge, is administered.

2006

First patient in the world receives treatment to target and stimulate OX40 after donors give $2.4M for the clinical trial.

2008

Donors generously give $74M to the “Providence Together” campaign, to build the 200,000-square-foot Providence Cancer Center, housing all cancer services under one roof.

First patient in Oregon receives nivolumab at Providence to treat melanoma and lung cancer, resulting in FDA approval three years later.

2013

The journal Science names cancer immunotherapy the “Breakthrough of the Year.”

2015

Thanks to donors, the new Providence Guest House opens.

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for multiple cancers with shared genetic profile.

2018

2018

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for breast cancer.

2018

Providence played key role in Nobelwinning immunotherapy research.

2019

First global study to test neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy as a safe means of down-staging head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

2019

First epithelial cancer patient in Oregon treated with adoptive cellular therapy.

2020

Providence becomes first health system in Oregon to test for COVID-19 and offer health care workers antibody testing.

What if the body’s immune system could identify and destroy cancer cells?

Renee wasn’t going to let cancer defeat her. She found a clinical trial led

by Dr. John Godwin at Providence that gave her hope for the future.

When Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., joined Providence Portland Medical Center as director of the cancer program in 1993, only a few scientists were asking that simple “what if” question about the role of immunotherapy and cancer.

That didn’t stop him or his team of pioneers. Today the cancer research team at Providence has proven immunotherapy can fight cancer. Coupled with advancements in cancer genome sequencing – known as precision oncology – we are saving more lives today than ever before. If has become when.

If we’re still treating cancer the same way next year that we are today, then we’re not doing our job.

– Walter Urba, M.D., Ph.D.

At Providence, we are constantly innovating, improving every day, and reaching for a future without cancer. Today’s treatments are better than those of yesterday’s, but they are still not good enough. We need tomorrow’s treatments to get us even closer to finishing cancer.

Cancer isn’t going away. It’s sneaky, changing and finding new ways to invade.

Immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, and we want to find out why. We are harnessing the power of genomic sequencing and the power of immunotherapy to develop more effective, personalized therapies, so that more people have hope - hope for more time, more moments with the people they love.

We can’t do it without you.

Donors provide 70 percent of our research funding. You are the catalyst.

Without you, we can’t push the limits of research. We believe we’ve got cancer on the run. With your help, we can finish it for good.

Stefano has more moments with his daughter.

Treated for testicular cancer, he is alive because of progress made in cancer research.

Renee had nothing to lose When a glossy red patch appeared on Renee Tolleshaug’s leg, she knew she needed to have it examined. A biopsy of the spot returned a diagnosis of primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type. It’s a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma.

Traditional cancer treatment worked for about a year-and-a-half. Then, a PET scan showed the lymphoma had returned and was in other parts of her body. “It’s like it had a life of its own,” said Renee.

When her oncologist suggested hospice, Renee sprang into action. She had seen a news story about a clinical trial offered at Providence called CAR T-cell therapy. The patient in the story had the same type lymphoma she did. John Godwin, M.D., was leading the trial at Providence.

Renee called Providence and within two weeks was accepted into the trial. Her T-cells were extracted and shipped out so they could be genetically engineered to attack the blood cancer cells, a process that takes about three weeks.

After a single infusion of the re-engineered T cells, we will usually see a complete response in patients within a month. It is the power of philanthropy that helps us create new treatments for patients like Renee, giving them hope for a better life.

– John Godwin, M.D.

While waiting for the modified cells, Renee became sick and Dr. Godwin did not want to infuse the new cells until she recovered. In the interim, to keep her cancer at bay, Renee received a bridge therapy that worked for six months until her lymphoma returned. Then she received the re-engineered cells.

“When you know your life is severely threatened and you have the opportunity to try cutting-edge, possibly life-saving treatment, well … I had nothing to lose and I knew it.”

Renee felt more energetic, positive, and hopeful within two weeks of the CAR T treatment. “It’s not like it just saved my life, it gave me a new one,” she said.

“I can’t describe how much better I feel.”

Our Milestones 1987

2008

Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Portland Medical Center is dedicated.

First patient in the world receives DRibble, a lung cancer vaccine developed at Providence.

1993

2009

Walter J. Urba, M.D., Ph.D., is recruited to start cancer program at Earle A. Chiles Research Institute.

World’s first patient treated with immune-activating IL-2 and highly-targeted radiation therapy.

2011

2016

First patient in the world receives combination immunotherapy for ovarian cancer

2017

Providence Cancer Center becomes Robert W. Franz Cancer Center in honor of the lifetime support and generosity of Bob Franz.

2017

First patient in Oregon receives adoptive cell therapy for kidney cancer.

International trial led by Dr. Urba results in first immunotherapy drug that improves melanoma survival rates. FDA approval of ipilimumab soon follows.

1995

2012

Providence becomes a leader in precision oncology through expansion of our Molecular Genomics Lab.

1994

World’s first treatment for late-stage melanoma using patient-derived tumor vaccine with adoptive cellular therapy and IL-2 is offered.

Providence is chosen as a founding member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb International Immuno-Oncology Network.

1996

2012

Providence is the first in Oregon to test a genetically modified breast cancer vaccine.

2000

Oregon’s first experimental prostate cancer vaccine, now known as Provenge, is administered.

2006

First patient in the world receives treatment to target and stimulate OX40 after donors give $2.4M for the clinical trial.

2008

Donors generously give $74M to the “Providence Together” campaign, to build the 200,000-square-foot Providence Cancer Center, housing all cancer services under one roof.

First patient in Oregon receives nivolumab at Providence to treat melanoma and lung cancer, resulting in FDA approval three years later.

2013

The journal Science names cancer immunotherapy the “Breakthrough of the Year.”

2015

Thanks to donors, the new Providence Guest House opens.

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for multiple cancers with shared genetic profile.

2018

2018

Providence played key role in first immunotherapy approved for breast cancer.

2018

Providence played key role in Nobelwinning immunotherapy research.

2019

First global study to test neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy as a safe means of down-staging head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

2019

First epithelial cancer patient in Oregon treated with adoptive cellular therapy.

2020

Providence becomes first health system in Oregon to test for COVID-19 and offer health care workers antibody testing.

Your support will: Increase bench-to-bedside research: The more scientific research our team of immunotherapy and genomics experts can perform in our labs, the more options we can translate to patients at the bedside, bringing more breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy. For cancer patients and their loved ones, time is a precious gift.

How you can help Give

Get involved

Grow our investigative team: The success of our efforts will be only as good as the people chosen to lead our work. We know that recruiting and training the very brightest minds is the key to a future without cancer.

Make a gift to Providence in support of cancer research.

Take a tour, meet our research team or attend a gathering in person or at a virtual event.

Provide whole-person care for patients and families: We believe in caring for the whole person and supporting the families of those in our care. Our patient advocates, nurse navigators, oncology social workers, survivorship team, oncology palliative care, nutrition and integrative medicine services greatly improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.

Introduce

Remember

Secure the future through endowments: Through endowments, our researchers are able to ask the big questions, explore new ideas, and collaborate worldwide in pursuit of new breakthroughs, all while knowing that their work will have sustained funding.

Share information about our work with others, host Providence Cancer Institute tours or plan gatherings for friends.

Remember Providence in your will or estate plan to ensure the future of cancer research, treatment and care.

For more information on how you can help, contact Shari Lynn Scales at 971-358-6452 or Shari.Scales@providence.org

OUR MISSION

Cancer and your genome Your genome is the unique collection of DNA in your cells that encodes everything from hair and eye color to how you taste different foods. It also plays a role in how and when you get sick, how you recover and how your body responds to different treatments.

Cancer occurs when certain changes to the genome, called mutations, change how our cells grow and divide. Mutations can occur in different ways, some environmental and some inherited from our parents.

The good news is that many of the mutations that cause cancer are also weaknesses that we can target to kill cancer cells. By sequencing the genome of your tumor, we can work to map out these mutations to develop a personalized treatment plan.

As expressions of God’s healing love, witnessed through the ministry of Jesus, we are steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.

OUR CORE VALUES

Compassion, Dignity, Justice, Excellence, Integrity

FinishCancer.org/oregon

Renee received life-saving treatment at Providence Cancer Institute for her rare form of lymphoma.

Your support will: Increase bench-to-bedside research: The more scientific research our team of immunotherapy and genomics experts can perform in our labs, the more options we can translate to patients at the bedside, bringing more breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy. For cancer patients and their loved ones, time is a precious gift.

How you can help Give

Get involved

Grow our investigative team: The success of our efforts will be only as good as the people chosen to lead our work. We know that recruiting and training the very brightest minds is the key to a future without cancer.

Make a gift to Providence in support of cancer research.

Take a tour, meet our research team or attend a gathering in person or at a virtual event.

Provide whole-person care for patients and families: We believe in caring for the whole person and supporting the families of those in our care. Our patient advocates, nurse navigators, oncology social workers, survivorship team, oncology palliative care, nutrition and integrative medicine services greatly improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.

Introduce

Remember

Secure the future through endowments: Through endowments, our researchers are able to ask the big questions, explore new ideas, and collaborate worldwide in pursuit of new breakthroughs, all while knowing that their work will have sustained funding.

Share information about our work with others, host Providence Cancer Institute tours or plan gatherings for friends.

Remember Providence in your will or estate plan to ensure the future of cancer research, treatment and care.

For more information on how you can help, contact Shari Lynn Scales at 971-358-6452 or Shari.Scales@providence.org

OUR MISSION

Cancer and your genome Your genome is the unique collection of DNA in your cells that encodes everything from hair and eye color to how you taste different foods. It also plays a role in how and when you get sick, how you recover and how your body responds to different treatments.

Cancer occurs when certain changes to the genome, called mutations, change how our cells grow and divide. Mutations can occur in different ways, some environmental and some inherited from our parents.

The good news is that many of the mutations that cause cancer are also weaknesses that we can target to kill cancer cells. By sequencing the genome of your tumor, we can work to map out these mutations to develop a personalized treatment plan.

As expressions of God’s healing love, witnessed through the ministry of Jesus, we are steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.

OUR CORE VALUES

Compassion, Dignity, Justice, Excellence, Integrity

FinishCancer.org/oregon

Renee received life-saving treatment at Providence Cancer Institute for her rare form of lymphoma.