Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System broke ground Tuesday on the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion, which will serve as the new home for the Henry Ford Cancer Institute.
The new pavilion will be a destination center for ambulatory cancer treatment, precision medicine, clinical trials and research and support services for cancer patients.
The building is supported largely by a $20 million donation — the largest in the health system's history — from Detroit businessman and philanthropist Mort Harris in honor of his late wife Brigitte. The donation is part of a $40 million package to support the building project and three specific program areas, including precision medicine, brain cancer and pancreatic cancer.
"This is my life's work now — to partner with the people from Henry Ford to find a cure for pancreatic cancer," said Mr. Harris, whose wife died of pancreatic cancer in 2016. "I watched my wife suffer for 21 months with this disease and no one else should have to endure that."