Los Angeles-based City of Hope received a $100 million gift to create a national integrative oncology program that will combine Eastern and Western medicine.
The gift — from Andrew and Peggy Cherng, philanthropists, co-founders and co-CEOs of Panda Express — is the largest in City of Hope's history and the largest donation by Panda Charitable Family Foundation, according to a Sept. 12 system news release.
The money will establish the Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology at City of Hope, which will draw from Chinese medicine and other Eastern healing traditions to provide evidence-based insights for more effective cancer medicines and care. The center will begin in Southern California and eventually expand to the national system and will be led by Director Richard Lee, MD.
The center will focus on research, therapy development and clinical trials; education and training programs, including creating one of the first integrative oncology fellowships led by oncologists; and develop platforms to track clinical data and improve cancer patient outcomes.