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Val Skinner Foundation Helps to Fund ‘Seahorse’
John Marvel and his wife, Mary Jane, were well versed in science and medicine, after all, he was a research fellow with a pharmaceutical company and she was a nurse. It was not surprising, therefore, that in 1998, when Mrs. Marvel was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and given a life expectancy of three to six months if not treated, the couple relied on their professional experience and their faith to determine her medical treatment. On the strong recommendation of Mrs. Marvel’s surgeon, they met with The Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Director of Hematologic Malignancies Program, Roger Strair, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
While at CINJ, Jane found the warm and positive atmosphere and highly competent physicians, nurses and support personnel created an ideal environment for her care. John agreed, but always the researcher, he contacted the National Institutes of Health to confer on the recommended course of treatment. Confident that the treatment was state-of-the-art, the Marvels chose to commit their trust, and Jane’s care, to the physician-scientists and nurses at CINJ. “Through the continuing treatment and research efforts of Dr. Strair, Jane’s life was extended almost ten years.” John Marvel continues, “We were extremely pleased and gratefully provided support so that others could benefit from the newest advances in cancer therapy.”
This year marks John’s 12th consecutive year of annual giving to CINJ. He notes, “I was hesitant at first to talk about my giving, but I know that Jane would want me to do so. I want others to understand that the combined impact of all our annual gifts, no matter what the size, provides immediate support for the innovative research and caring treatment that patients receive at CINJ.”
John’s dedication and spirit is typical of that shared by so many patients and friends of CINJ. Their annual gifts provide a steady flow of support that helps sustain the Institute’s commitment to offer its patients the very best treatments. It is this integration of compassionate healing and cutting edge research that underscores CINJ’s stature as New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. And it is through individual gifts, like those of the Marvels, that thousands of patients each year will reap the benefits.
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