UT Southwestern-Moncrief Cancer Institute expanding patient treatment services

File art   A. Lee Graham Reporter   UT Southwestern Medical Center and Moncrief Cancer Foundation in Fort Worth each have pledged $5 million to establish comprehensive cancer services in the city and nearby communities through the UT Southwestern-Moncrief Cancer Institute. “The Fort Worth community will benefit from a cancer center that delivers comprehensive services, including infusion therapy and cancer imaging in addition to Moncrief Cancer Institute’s current programs of cancer prevention, cancer survivorship and population research,” said Dr. Keith Argenbright, director of Moncrief Cancer Institute, commenting in a news release. A UT Southwestern official also applauded the investment. “With this $10 million investment in fighting cancer, UT Southwestern will be able to provide clinical expertise including chemotherapy and other cutting-edge cancer therapies as well as National Cancer Institute (NCI) clinical research trials at Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort Worth,” said Dr. James K.V. Willson Jr., director of UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center.  Additional cancer research is planned for the Moncrief Cancer Institute, according to Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, UT Southwestern president. “We look forward to developing these programs in continued partnership with Fort Worth providers, including the JPS Health Network,” Podolsky said. Launched by W. A. Moncrief in 1966 when his son W. A. “Tex” Moncrief Jr. lost his 8-year-old daughter to leukemia, Moncrief Cancer Institute is currently funded primarily by the philanthropy of W. A. “Tex” Moncrief Jr. and his family. “My family has been touched by cancer and we therefore take the fight against cancer very personally and very seriously,” Moncrief said. In late 2012, the Moncrief Cancer Institute moved into a new state-of-the art headquarters on Magnolia Avenue in the city’s hospital district. The expanded services are expected to begin in spring 2015.   lgraham@bizpress.net