On Oct. 26, 2019, the Smilow Cancer Hospital celebrated 10 years since it opened its doors to a new state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient 500,000-square-foot cancer care facility. Since that day in October 2009, Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center have risen to the top echelon as one of the nation’s comprehensive cancer research and care facilities, providing advanced care to patients and families and pioneering cancer research.

Today, SCH is home to hundreds of highly skilled physicians and nurses who provide care in 13 multidisciplinary cancer specialties. Since its opening, achievements include:

• Growth to more than 235,000 outpatient visits per year.
• Launched and expanded the Smilow Cancer Hospital Cancer Care Centers to 15 throughout Connecticut and in Rhode Island.
• Connecticut’s largest provider of cancer care – treating more than 45% of the 20,000 patients diagnosed with cancer annually in the state.
• Increased direct cancer research funding to more than $99 million a year.
• Opened a record number of clinical trials (300 now available) providing the most advanced cancer therapies, including a state-of-the-art Phase I Clinical Trials Infusion Unit for patients on phase I trials.
• Research firsts including successful immunotherapy treatment and novel drug therapies across the gamut of cancer, including melanoma and cancers of the lung, head and neck, stomach, breast, kidney, and bladder.
• Increased specialty services for patients including: Survivorship care, genetic counseling, screening and prevention education, tobacco treatment, integrative medicine, pain management, Onco-dermatology service, Cardio-oncology service, support groups, cancer boutique, exercise & nutrition support, and complementary services.

This anniversary also offered an opportunity to acknowledge the transformational gift by Joan and Joel Smilow and many other donors who made the launch and continued development of SCH possible.