Wolfson lights Weaver Tower gold for childhood cancer awareness

Posted on October 9, 2019 By Editor Neighborhood News, Riverside, Avondale, Ortega, Murray Hill

Celebrating National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month were Radiation Oncologist Daniel J. Indelicato, MD, UF Health Proton Therapy Institute; Jesse Dreicer, Esq., president, Child Cancer Fund; Carla Montgomery, executive director, Child Cancer Fund; Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry; Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist Howard M. Katzenstein, MD, medical director of the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Cancer Center, division chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Nemours; Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist Eric S. Sandler, chief of Hematology and Oncology at Wolfson Children’s, Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist at Nemours; Paul A. Pitel, MD, chair of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Nemours; Keli Coughlin Joyce, executive director of the Jay Fund; Gary Josephson, MD, chief medical officer, Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville; NOT PICTURED: Michael D. Aubin, president of Wolfson Children’s Hospital (Photo by Jeff Strohecker)

September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and to bring awareness to Jacksonville’s “Home Team” of pediatric cancer specialists, the folks at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Nemours Children’s Specialty Care celebrated by illuminating the Weaver Tower at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in gold flood lights for a week in early September.

Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Photo by Dan Harris

Mayor Lenny Curry kicked off the celebration during a press conference Sept. 6, where he issued a proclamation denoting September as “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,” to celebrate the more than 50 pediatric cancer specialists at Wolfson, Nemours, and UF Health Proton Therapy Institute. These physicians care for 95 percent of all children in the eight-county region who are diagnosed with cancer, said Michael Aubin, president of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. The team of doctors, who are all part of nationally known and recognized organizations, treat children with 12 major types of cancer and more than 100 subtypes, he said.

Also joining in the festivities were Keli Coughlin Joyce of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund and Carla Montgomery of the Child Cancer Fund, two childhood cancer organizations that provide programs and services, so families of kids diagnosed with cancer within the Northeast Florida will feel supported and not alone.

During the month, the “Home Team” requested individuals within the community wear gold to show their support for the local childhood cancer awareness initiative.

Year after year, Wolfson is ranked among the 50 Best Children’s Hospitals for pediatric cancer and pediatric neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report. Along with Nemours and UF Health’s Proton Therapy Institute, the conglomeration offers nationally recognized programs in the treatment of blood cancers, bone and soft tissue cancers, brain and spine tumors, liver tumors and solid organ tumors.