"It is my sincere hope that this park will be a place of reflection and renewal for patients receiving radiation treatment at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center," he said. "My wife personified hope and courage, and the park is my way of helping her memory live on."

More than 30,000 patient visits are made to UAB radiation oncology each year from across the Southeast. Radiation Oncology Chair James A. Bonner, M.D., said the new facility will provide more suitable, larger space for newer technology that will be standard for the field in the future. "And just as important, it will provide an appropriate, separate area for the state's pediatric cancer patients, most of whom, including all from Children's Hospital, receive their radiation treatment at UAB," Bonner said.


He noted that UAB was one of the first 10 institutions in the world to be outfitted with state-of-the-art TomoTherapy, a version of image-guided radiation therapy. His department is one of the few radiation oncology units in the country with a research component, holding a $3.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

The department has doubled its faculty in recent years, allowing each member to specialize in one or two disease sites. It also boasts seven physicists on staff to help design treatment strategies and provide quality assurance.

The cancer center's "Rays of Hope" campaign, launched in November 2005, still offers various naming opportunities in within the park and throughout the building. For information, call 205-934-0282.

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