Greetings from the Executive Director

I’m pleased to share with you the 2020 annual report for the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson. Throughout this report you’ll read stories about the many triumphs that strengthened our team, the courage of our patients and the thoughtfulness of our supporters during this unprecedented time.

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdowns across the country, we knew that cancer would continue its spread. Cancer doesn’t know about social distancing practices. It doesn’t lay low or take breaks while we’re in a worldwide crisis. It doesn’t stop — and neither did we.

As the pandemic spread, our cancer center team sprang into action. We quickly implemented additional precautions to keep our patients safe when receiving treatments, and we employed a robust telemedicine program to care for patients who were too sick to travel. Among these new approaches was our radiation therapy cell phone parking lot where patients safely waited in their cars until it was time for their appointment.

Through the efforts of every member of our research, education and care teams, we did not waiver in our mission to fight cancer. In fact, we made profound progress. Clinical trials moved forward and new trials were added. We recruited new faculty members and scientists, and our new funding efforts progressed. We learned, along with our residents and students, how this novel coronavirus affects cancer patients in unique ways. And our care of cancer patients — whether they were recently diagnosed or undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery or survivorship care — never stopped.

In 2020, we successfully completed and received renewal of our National Cancer Institute designation for another five years. It comes after 18 months of significant teamwork and dedication from across our cancer center and the university. Motivated by this success we are setting our sights even higher. Our goal over the next four years is to achieve Comprehensive Cancer Center status, the highest level of recognition bestowed upon a cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

Part of this work involves breaking ground in 2021 on our UT Health Multispecialty and Research Hospital, expected to open in the fall of 2024. This new hospital will focus on providing better cancer care as well as other specialty services to improve the continuum of care for patients. The new hospital will help us expand diagnostics, treatment offerings and clinical research to improve the lives of cancer patients and other specialty patients across the region.

I am excited about our future as we continue to seize new opportunities to improve the lives of our patients and loved ones through pioneering cancer care, research and discovery. We are so grateful to our patients, our families, our friends, faculty, researchers and staff for supporting our mission to decrease the burden of cancer in San Antonio, South Texas and beyond.
Thank you for your continuing interest and support of this important life-saving mission.

Sincerely,

Ruben A. Mesa, MD, FACP
Executive Director, Mays Cancer Center
UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson
Mays Family Foundation Distinguished University Presidential Chair
Professor of Medicine