Impact & Progress

Campaign Progress

Gifts to The Dana-Farber Campaign have allowed us to:

help develop
more
than half
of all cancer drugs
approved by the FDA

offer more than
1,100
clinical trials

open
3 New
patient care facilities

double
the size
of our Cancer Care
Equity Program

hire
5 New
patient navigators

establish
16 New
endowed
Dana-Farber Chairs

This progress so far was made possible by

more than
2.1M gifts
from more than
836,000
donors
including more than
1.2M gifts
below $100
and more than
380,000
gifts
from outside
New England
including all 50 states

Hale Family Support Transforms Pancreatic Cancer Medicine

The Hale Family are longtime supporters of Dana-Farber, including through a transformative $50 million gift—the largest single gift to pancreatic cancer research in the Institute’s history and one of the largest gifts to The Dana-Farber Campaign. Judith B. Hale, Karen and Rob Hale, and Elizabeth Hale Kendall and Richard Kendall support Dana-Farber to honor the memory of Judy’s late husband, Robert “Bob” T. Hale Sr., who was also a generous philanthropist and was treated at Dana-Farber for pancreatic cancer. Their gifts have established the Robert T. Hale Sr. and Judith B. Hale Fund for Pancreatic Research and the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic...

Judith B. Hale, Karen and Rob Hale, and Elizabeth Hale Kendall and Richard Kendall support Dana-Farber to honor the memory of Judy’s late husband, Robert “Bob” T. Hale Sr., who was also a generous philanthropist and was treated at Dana-Farber for pancreatic cancer. Their gifts have established the Robert T. Hale Sr. and Judith B. Hale Fund for Pancreatic Research and the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

From the Hale’s generosity, the Hale Family Center has grown dramatically in size and scope of work, from a small team to more than 100 total staff across 13 laboratories. As a result, Dana-Farber has established one of the most sophisticated and largest clinical trial programs for pancreatic cancer at any cancer center in the world, developing new therapies to target mutations in pancreatic cancers, and working to harness the immune system to attack pancreatic cancers. Watch this video or read the press release to learn more.

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Resilient—John

John Cain has defied cancer—twice. For much of his life, John’s chief focus was always work. When he began experiencing crippling pain, his computer software services company remained the top priority, even as the pain was getting worse. After almost a year, John finally went to see his doctor, who diagnosed stage III colorectal cancer. “It was a shock. I was numb. Everything just runs through your mind: your wife, your family, your children, your life,” he says. John’s doctor recommended immediate surgery, but after seeking a second opinion at Dana-Farber, he opted for radiation first to shrink the tumor,...

John Cain has defied cancer—twice.

For much of his life, John’s chief focus was always work. When he began experiencing crippling pain, his computer software services company remained the top priority, even as the pain was getting worse.

After almost a year, John finally went to see his doctor, who diagnosed stage III colorectal cancer.

“It was a shock. I was numb. Everything just runs through your mind: your wife, your family, your children, your life,” he says.

John’s doctor recommended immediate surgery, but after seeking a second opinion at Dana-Farber, he opted for radiation first to shrink the tumor, and then surgery.

After his successful treatment at Dana-Farber, John thought that phase of his life was behind him.

And then cancer struck again: this time, stage IV lymphoma. No one knew the cause, but he and his Dana-Farber team were determined to beat this cancer, too. “I was scheduled to have an eight-week course of chemotherapy, but in five weeks the cancer was gone,” says Cain.

Cancer times two has caused him to refocus his life goals on what matters most—spending time with his wife, Kathleen, their adult children and grandchildren, and growing the impact of his technology education program in his home city of Quincy, Mass., by spending more time teaching technology to young people and senior citizens.

“I am grateful to Dana-Farber,” he says. “And now, if I can do something for someone every day, that’s what I’m going to do.”

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Wonder—Erin

My name is Erin O’Malley, and my strength is my superpower. I’ve run the Boston Marathon—twice. And, I host a radio show on Mix 104.1 in Boston. I’ve always been kind of a tough woman. Then, one day, I found a lump. I went to the local hospital and was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. It’s a very rare and very aggressive form of breast cancer. They said I only had about a 65 percent chance of being alive in five years. But, like I said, I’m kind of a tough woman. And, if cancer was going to try...

My name is Erin O’Malley, and my strength is my superpower.

I’ve run the Boston Marathon—twice. And, I host a radio show on Mix 104.1 in Boston. I’ve always been kind of a tough woman. Then, one day, I found a lump. I went to the local hospital and was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. It’s a very rare and very aggressive form of breast cancer. They said I only had about a 65 percent chance of being alive in five years.

But, like I said, I’m kind of a tough woman. And, if cancer was going to try to push me around—well, I was going to push back.

So, I went to Dana-Farber. The second I walked in, I felt so much love. Dana-Farber is a place where miracles happen. You know, the lifesaving scientific kind of miracles. Next, I went on my radio show and told my listeners that I was going to start chemo. I also said that I planned to wear my superhero outfit to treatment. I mean, wouldn’t you?

I completed eight rounds of chemo in 16 weeks. And I wore my costume to each and every treatment. I’ll never forget the day I was declared cancer-free. The people at Dana-Farber are the best of the best. If you ask me, they have cancer-fighting superpowers.

What can I say … they’re my heroes.

— Erin O’Malley

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What we learn at Dana-Farber is saving lives everywhere. Your gift will ensure that our momentum accelerates in every way. Together, we will Defy Cancer.