College President James Freedman called for more cancer research at the dedication of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center's new home.
In his first speech since his return from a six-month sabbatical, Freedman traced the origins of cancer and society's attitude toward the disease to illustrate the significance of the NCCC's work.
"This is a plea, at a moment of unprecedented scientific opportunity, for attending to the quality of national life and to the health of millions of American citizens," he said. "It is an opportunity to diminish the size of the shadow that cancer casts over our society and over our spirits."
Freedman spoke outside theCenter's new Barbara E. Rubin Building on Friday, and linked the Building's dedication to the nation's need to recommit itself to cancer research.
"As we dedicate this new building today, then, I hope that this nation will rededicate itself to finding a new understanding of the causes of cancer and new sources of funding to support the scientific effort."
Freedman briefly infused his speech with personal reflection.
"Having myself being diagnosed with cancer ... I have learned that cancer has always been not only a medical phenomenon, but a social, psychological and cultural phenomenon as well."
Freedman was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in April 1994 and underwent six months of chemotherapy treatment prior to his sabbatical.
The four-level building cost over $25 million to build, NCCC Director of Development Bill Little said. He said more than half the money has been raised, and the ceremony was the celebration of the naming of the gift given to Dartmouth Medical School.
Little said Freedman was asked to speak because he plays a large role in the medical school, the hospital and the College and in that role he understands the importance of institutions like the NCCC.
He added that Freedman was also selected to speak at the dedication because he had a personal experience with the disease, Little said.
"Most of the people in the audience were donors to the NCCC who have experienced cancer themselves or have relatives who have," Little said.
Calling the disease "a constellation of more than 100 diseases with many different symptoms," Freedman said cancer has "compelled our attention from a very early point in our history as a species and exercised a grim power over our imagination and our social and scientific endeavors."
He traced cancer's socialevolution through the 19th century when the term "cancer" became synonymous with "social ills."
Noting society's recent progress, he said the stigma associated with cancer persisted through most of this century.
Freedman heralded the passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971 under President Richard Nixon's administration as a declaration of war on cancer.
"The National Cancer Act was promoted as the nation's charter for scientific research that would enlarge our understanding of the causes and progression of cancer as well as reduce the incidence of cancer in the lives of Americans."
He said this Act made federal funding for centers like the NCCC possible.
The new building is named for business woman and philanthropist Barbara E. Rubin, a Vermont resident, who discovered she had cancer when she was 62 years old. Her six-year battle, which included many visits to the NCCC, began in 1989.
The Amicus Foundation, a private non-profit organization of which Rubin had been a director and benefactor, donated a large gift to the NCCC in Rubin's name for the construction of the building.
