'A day of beginnings'
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Five-year-old Allison Avery didn't seem that impressed with all the hoopla — not even when the vice president of the United States helped her turn soil with a gold-painted shovel. She just knew she was having fun, and feeling better.
The solid malignant tumor that was wrapped around and above her right eye is finally gone. Come November, she'll be done with chemotherapy. She said she's prayed to her Heavenly Father to "make me better." When asked how she feels about Him, she answered, "I love Him."
Children such as Allison and other cancer survivors are the impetus behind the new cancer research hospital portion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. And it was for the Aug. 25 groundbreaking of this state-of-the-art research, patient-care facility that President Gordon B. Hinckley and several Church leaders gathered with other dignitaries and government leaders, including U.S. Vice President Richard B. Cheney, who gave the keynote address. President Hinckley, who was accompanied by his counselors in the First Presidency, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, offered brief remarks during the event. Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve gave the invocation on this warm summer day. Also offering remarks were Jon M. Huntsman, founder and chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and his wife, Karen, both of whom are members of the Church; and Utah Gov. Michael O. Leavitt and Dr. Stephen M. Prescott, executive director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Participants and guests gathered under a large tent next to the existing Huntsman Cancer Institute adjacent to the University of Utah Health Sciences Center on the grounds of the University of Utah. The existing building includes research facilities and out-patient care, while the new 230,000-square-foot facility, to be attached with enclosed glass walkways, will house operating rooms, a radiology suite, a radiation therapy suite and in-patient rooms.
Special guests of honor at the groundbreaking were cancer survivors, including Elder Neal A. Maxwell and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve.
There was also little "Ali," as her mother Terrie Avery calls her. They are members of the Crescent 24th Ward, Sandy Utah Crescent South Stake. "I just feel honored to be part of the groundbreaking for a hospital to help children like Ali and maybe even Ali again in the future if we have any other reoccurrences of cancer," she said following the event as her daughter played nearby. "It's just incredible what Jon and Karen Huntsman have done and are doing — just the research and their caring. Ally is almost at the end of her treatment and has the best odds that she could have for survival."
During his remarks, President Hinckley expressed hope that one day, as were polio and smallpox, cancer will be eliminated from society, "though the way will be long and fraught with difficulties."
"I lost my mother, two sisters and a brother to this monstrous evil which is no respecter of persons, no respecter of age or circumstances. Efforts to find the cure have been in progress for a long period. Some remarkable results have been achieved. This great Huntsman Institute for research is accomplishing wonders, as are other facilities across the nation and the world. Slowly, the mystery is being unlocked. Now the hospital for which we break ground today will assist substantially in this effort. Here the very best of facilities and scientific equipment and many of the brightest minds will ensure the easing of pain and bring about the most up-to-date care for those who are in need. The cancer patient and his or her treatment team will join in a hand-in-hand relationship with a research institute which inevitably will lead to something of great significance.
"How much poorer this world would be without the generous gifts of those with means, who make possible great institutions for research and the finding of ways to mitigate human suffering," President Hinckley said. "One by one, this will lead to the eradication of the dread illnesses which have afflicted the human race and which through the ages have taken hundreds of millions of lives with incalculable suffering.
"Among these benefactors have been Jon and Karen Huntsman and their family who have used wealth, not in an effort to satisfy selfish ends, but rather to ease the burdens of the sick and in many other ways to lift, encourage and bless the lives of those who struggle so much.
"This day of beginnings, a day of rejoicing, all of us rejoice in the construction of this new facility, the entire purpose of which will be directed toward the eradication of this dreadful disease."
During her remarks, Sister Huntsman related how 10 years ago, her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. She described the fears and questions that came with that diagnosis and how they turned to friends who were doctors for counseling and information.
"Without knowledge, we tend to be frightened, but when we have knowledge and people who understand, that fear is replaced with hope and love. I thought of the people in the community who didn't know any doctors, who didn't have a health care program and who were afraid to say the word 'cancer,' who had no place to go when they got this diagnosis."
She said the Huntsman Cancer Institute is open to everyone, free of charge. "They can come in the front door and have all of their questions answered. They can feel warmth and love."
At this hospital, "the patient will always come first," Brother Huntsman said, following his wife in remarks. "Everything we do will center around the patient."
Brother Huntsman added: "We're on the cutting edge in the world of combining medicine and science. No other facility in the world will have these two great enterprises meet, where the patient is the benefactor."
Vice President Che- ney said cancer claims more than a half million American lives per year. "Virtually, every family in our country has been affected by cancer. It continues to come in many forms and still tests the limits of our medical knowledge."
But today, he added, "there is real hope, where once there was none. In recent years, we've turned an important corner, seeing for the first time a decrease in the incidence of cancer-related deaths."
In the coming years, the vice president said, cancer patients will "come to this place. They and their families will find not only the latest in clinical care, but also a staff of capable and caring professionals. The people of the Huntsman [Cancer Institute] are among the best in their profession. They reflect the humanity and the compassion of this great city."
