Atlantic Health's Carol G. Simon Cancer Center has received a $3 million donation from a cattle dealer from Randolph, NJ, to establish the Leonard B. Kahn Head and Neck Cancer Institute, according to a story by the Daily Record.
The 82-year-old Kahn does not have head or neck cancer, but he has leg cancer and is a patient of James Wong, MD, the chairman of the radiation oncology department at Morristown Medical Center and the founder and medical director of the new institute.
Kahn's recent experiences with battling cancer have given him a feeling for cancer patients and what they go through, he said.
The institute is conducting groundbreaking research into oropharyngeal cancers, including cancers of the tonsil and back of the tongue, according to the story.
Wong and colleagues want to find the real cause of these cancers, which are increasing among affluent, college-educated white males between ages 50 and 55, he noted.
Cancers of the tonsil and back of the tongue are not like conventional mouth and throat cancers, according to Wong. Conventional cancers are linked with tobacco and alcohol use, manifest as squamous cell carcinoma, and usually develop between ages 60 and 65. But these new epidemic cancers are not associated with smoking or drinking, manifest as lymphoepithelioma, and are thought to be linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV), the story noted.
Kahn's donation will go beyond treating head and neck cancers, and help develop a new understanding of these cancers, according to Wong.
The Atlantic Health System includes the Morristown, Overlook, and Newton medical centers and the Goryeb Children's Hospital.
