New Jersey residents Ed and Sue Goldstein’s mission to help fight breast cancer was fueled by the loss of their 37-year old daughter Stacy in 2001to the disease. In 2009, the couple gave a $5 million gift to Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey to support breast cancer research and treatment which resulted in the naming of the breast cancer program in honor of their daughter. Today, the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center at Rutgers Cancer Institute continues to offer the full spectrum of therapeutic procedures and advanced treatment options including clinical trials and is home to a multidisciplinary team of nationally recognized physicians in their field who have expertise in routine, rare and complex breast cancers for both men and women.
The story was featured in the fall 2009 edition of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Oncolyte newsletter. See below for excerpts from the original article.
Recognizing a great need to arm scientists with the tools they need to unlock the mysteries of cancer, a Warren township couple active in supporting cancer programs after having lost two daughters to the disease has contributed $5 million to support research and treatment at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ). In honor of the gift, CINJ has named its breast center the “Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center” after one of those daughters.
Ed and Sue Goldstein are well known as the founders of The Valarie Fund, named for their nine-year-old daughter who died in 1976 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. The Maplewood-based nonprofit organization provides resources to create pediatric cancer and blood disorder programs in hospitals throughout New Jersey. The couple established The Valerie Fund as a way to help other families cope and to support pediatric cancer treatment in the state.
The Goldstein’s mission only grew stronger, when in 2001 they lost their 37-year old daughter Stacy to breast cancer.
This is not the couple’s first connection with CINJ. In recent years, Ed and Sue Goldstein have funded the Stacy Goldstein Breast Oncology Fellowship Award, which enabled two medical oncologists to launch their young careers through the biological study of breast cancer. A portion of this latest gift will go toward continued support of the Fellowship.
Ed Goldstein notes the decision to support CINJ in a larger fashion was a simple one, “We have seen the tremendous advances made in breast cancer research by the two doctors funded through the fellowship grants, but we recognize there is still a great need in this area. By providing these additional resources, we hope to help CINJ advance cancer research in a way that will help bring an end to this terrible disease. And by having Stacy’s name on the wall of the breast center, Sue and I are hopeful that the women, men and their families who come through here will realize they are not alone in their fight.”
