Around Fox Chase

Over the last few years, and without much fanfare, the Office of Clinical Research (OCR) has been diligently overhauling how Fox Chase Cancer Center initiates clinical trials and gets them running. They formed the Study Activation Unit (SAU), tasked with smashing through the walls that siloed different processes across the cancer center. Their success can be measured in time—from 2021 to 2023, the median time to new study activation dropped by a stunning 182 days, landing below their targeted goal of 90 days.

Members of the Fox Chase Cancer Center community—physicians, staff, patients, and their loved ones—went the extra mile, quite literally, at the 2024 Miles for Melanoma Philadelphia 5K Run/Walk.

Fox Chase Cancer Center welcomed researchers to the Center’s Leidy Auditorium in October for the 14th Annual Scientific Symposium, which was hosted by Fox Chase’s Center for Immunology.

For the third year in a row, contestants from across Fox Chase Cancer Center joined with colleagues at Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus to celebrate Halloween with a parade and costume contest. The contest accompanied the Pumpkin Decorating Contest (also in its third year), which was going on nearby in the space outside of the Leidy Auditorium.

2024 has not been a good year for pumpkins, until now. This autumn has been too dry and too warm, factors promoting both desiccation and rot. Pumpkins left outside to fend for themselves often fall prey to squirrels, packs of which have been known to strip pumpkins to the bone within minutes.

We never stop when it comes to cancer. That’s the message behind our new video, which showcases Fox Chase’s relentless pursuit of innovation to discover new ways to deliver excellence in cancer care.

On the afternoon of October 28, 2024, Fox Chase Cancer Center unveiled the latest iteration of its Mobile Screening Unit (MSU), which has evolved over nearly four decades to become a cancer research center on wheels. The MSU is dedicated to screening and outreach in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, as well as parts of New Jersey. Bigger than a SEPTA bus, the unit is now expanding its capabilities to include new services as well as support for cancer science and population studies.

“When I first saw the video, I was so emotional because my journey started as a patient,” said Felicita Beideman, a guest services ambassador at Fox Chase Cancer Center. “I can’t believe I’m here today and I’m a part of this.”