Grateful Patient and His Family Create Cancer Care and Research Endowment

John Huizinga can get emotional when discussing his charitable contributions to Regions Hospital cancer research program because his gratitude to our physicians figures so prominently. "The series of doctors I saw when I was diagnosed saved my life," John said. "I think it's important to pay back."

John has grown particularly close to Carlye, a nurse in the Cancer Care Center. "The only time I haven't seen Carlye in four years is when she was on maternity leave. We've become like a family. I have ten grandkids, so I share pictures of them. It makes it much more than a medical visit."

John's contributions to cancer research were influenced by his 35 years at 3M doing research, including with some medical products. "You have to do research to determine what may happen next. In the four years since I've been dealing with this disease, which is not curable but manageable, many new drugs have come along and many new applications of those drugs. If we didn't have the research we wouldn't have those new medicines.

"Ever since I've come to Regions I've been treated with respect and genuine caring. There's a community about this place." My wife and I wanted to express our gratitude, so we established the John and Yvonne Huizinga Family Cancer Endowment with a current gift and are also leaving a portion of our estate to the endowment.