From the start of her treatment at Stony Brook Cancer Center, Rosanne Rogé knew that her journey from breast cancer patient to breast cancer survivor wasn’t only about her.
By funding breast cancer innovation at Stony Brook Cancer Center, Rosanne Rogé hopes to help other women find successful conclusions to their own beast cancer journeys.
“In the beginning,” Rosanne said, “they asked me if they could use my breast tissue for research, and I said of course. Think about the women who went through this before me and who volunteered for breast cancer research, that eventually helped me. In respect for those women, I need to pay it forward.”
Now, Rosanne and her husband, Ron, are doing their part to advance breast cancer research at Stony Brook through the Ronald and Rosanne Rogé Breast Cancer Innovation Fund.
The Fund is designed to give the Breast Cancer program’s leadership the ability and flexibility to incubate and accelerate discoveries, translate seed funding into sustainable funding for researchers’ projects, and acquire cutting edge technology to further advance breast cancer research.
“The fact that Rosanne Rogé is now cancer-free is a testament to what Stony Brook doctors are capable of today,” said Dr. Yusuf Hannun, Stony Brook Medicine’s Vice Dean for Cancer Medicine, Joel Strum Kenny Professor in Cancer Research, and Director of the Stony Brook Cancer Center. “The philanthropic support we receive from Rosanne, Ron, and our other donors makes the difference in what we’ll be capable of tomorrow.”
“The last day of chemo,” she said, “all the nurses walk out with you to the waiting room, where there are people who are waiting to go in for treatment. They escort you to this bell, and you ring the bell to celebrate the completion of your chemo.
It was just, ‘Oh my God, it’s done.’ They all stood there, and they all cheered, and the people who were waiting for chemo stood up and cheered as well. I looked at them and said, ‘You are all going to be able to ring this bell one day too, because these folks are going to take such wonderful care of you, and you will have no fear.”
And now, the Rogés will be a part of helping future Stony Brook breast cancer patients reach that bell as well.
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