On a block of vacant row homes near the Johns Hopkins Medicine campus in East Baltimore, the Ulman Cancer Fund is building an 8,000 square-foot residence for young adults being treated for cancer. It will serve as a "home away from home" for people 15 to 39 who come from a distance to be treated at either the Kimmel Cancer Center or University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center. Kenneth Cooke, M.D., director of bone marrow transplant at the Kimmel Cancer Center says, "it will be a place where our patients can rest and re-energize; where they can educate, motivate and support one another; where they can laugh and cry without batting the eye of a passerby; where they can shout out in anger or in joy; where they can celebrate or be comforted."
Kimmel Cancer Center patient Karen Sollenberger spoke at the groundbreaking event for the Ulman Fund's new residence and was featured in an interview with WBAL-TV. The Baltimore Sun also reported on the new residence, featuring comments from Dr. Cooke.
Listen to Dr. Cooke speak about issues facing young adults with cancer: