MINNEAPOLIS, MINN—Sept. 6, 2006—Groundbreaking is set for Thursday, Sept. 14, at the future site of the first American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in the Twin Cities. A 4:30 p.m. reception will be followed by a 5:15 p.m. program at 2500 University Avenue Southeast near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Former Hope Lodge guest and Woodbury resident Dick Olender will join a representative of the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, American Cancer Society Midwest Division CEO Jari Johnston-Allen, and Dr. John Kersey and Dr. Frank Cerra from the University of Minnesota to break ground on the new Hope Lodge.

An American Cancer Society Hope Lodge provides free, long-term housing for adult cancer patients and their caregivers in an emotionally supportive environment.

"Hope Lodge represents much more than a building. It is a home full of warmth and support for cancer patients and those who love them," Johnston-Allen said. "We are excited that, through this new facility, we will be able to ease the burden for cancer patients throughout the state while also increasing access to care for low-income and rural Minnesotans."

The 40-room Hope Lodge will be constructed on land provided by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, near the east edge of the University of Minnesota campus. The American Cancer Society, in partnership with the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center, will open the facility to cancer patients in 2007. Hope Lodge guests will be referred to the facility from cancer centers throughout the Twin Cities.

"The Twin Cities Hope Lodge will enable us to expand our cancer care capabilities and, most importantly, ease the burden on patients coming to the Twin Cities for therapy by giving them a place to stay during the course of their treatment," said John Kersey, M.D., director, University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

When construction on the Twin Cities facility is complete, Minnesota will be the home of two Hope Lodges. The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Rochester, which opened in 1999 and has since accommodated nearly 2,000 cancer patients who received treatment at Mayo Clinic, is currently expanding from its original 28 rooms to 60 rooms. That expansion project is slated for completion in early 2007.

Media Contact: Mary Lawson, Public Relations Director, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, 612-624-6165, 612-363-6971 (cell), mlawson@umn.edu.