Suzanne Thigpen, assistant director of special projects for UMMC’s Office of Development, speaks Wednesday to Meridian Rotarians about efforts to build a new cancer center and research institute in Jackson. Photo by Thomas Howard

Mississippi leads the nation in cancer mortality, with more than 178 deaths per 100,000 people, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. In Jackson, the University of Mississippi Medical Center is working to change that. The teaching hospital recently launched a new “It’s About Time” capital campaign aimed at building the state’s first National Cancer Institute designated cancer center and research institute to expand treatment and research accessibility throughout the state.

 

Speaking to Meridian Rotary Club at its weekly meeting Wednesday, Suzanne Thigpen, assistant director of special projects for UMMC’s Office of Development, said patients at NIC designated centers see survival rates go up by 25% to 35%. The problem, she said, is one of access.

 

The closest NIC designated centers are at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Many Mississippians don’t have resources needed to travel to NIC centers in other states, Thigpen said, and there are no NIC designated centers in Mississippi, Arkansas or Louisiana.

 

Access to care also varies within the state, Thigpen said, and the Mississippi Delta, which shows some of the highest cancer mortality rates in the world, has very few oncologists. That can lead to illnesses going unchecked for a long time and an avoidance of doctors by patients, she said.

 

“We’re losing people we shouldn’t have to, and that’s why this project is so important to us,” she said.

 

For those who can travel out of state for specialized treatment, UMMC’s center will provide another option that is closer to home. For those without the ability to go to other states, Thigpen said, the center will provide needed care they may otherwise have gone without.

 

A critical component of an NIC designated center is research, Thigpen said, and UMMC brought Dr. Rodney Rocconi, who joined UMMC’s Cancer Center in 2023, onboard to set the foundation for that research. Rocconi, a native of Mississippi and graduate of the University of Mississippi, is a respected researcher with 70 clinical trials and more than 110 published works on the management of various forms of cancer.

 

Rocconi is tasked with hiring more than 30 cancer researchers to build the foundation of the new cancer center research arm, Thigpen said.

 

“In Dr. Rocconi’s first year and a half, the road to NIC, he has to hire 30 researchers,” she said. “He’s already hired 14.”

 

UMMC is a teaching hospital, Thigpen said, and the cancer center will also be training the next generation of oncologists while conducting new research into the disease.

 

The new center won’t be purely research and teaching, and just as much attention is being focused on the patient side of things. Thigpen said planners envision a center where patients can come and see all of their doctors in one day instead of the multiple visits many have to make now. The center will also feature a variety of support services such as counseling, support groups, a wig boutique, events spaces for yoga and other similar classes and more.

 

The cancer center is also investing heavily in making sure families and caregivers get the support they need as well, and resources for them will also be included in the center’s offerings, Thigpen said.

 

“All of the support services that go to make things better with the families and the patient because it’s more than the patient. It impacts the family and caregivers as well, so we’ll have all those services,” she said.

 

UMMC has set a goal of $125 million for its capital campaign and is ahead of schedule with $38 million already raised, Thigpen said. Fundraising is currently in the “silent phase” she said, which isn’t secret but allows the university to approach donors quietly about supporting the project. Normally, the silent phase lasts until the campaign has raised 50% to 60% of its goal, she said.

 

The timeline has public fundraising for the project beginning in October 2027 and running until December 2029.

 

“We have a timeline, but where we’re excited is the timeline is moving forward faster than we thought it would, and so we want to share more about this project,” she said. “It really is going to take us a village to get to our total goal which is $125 million.

 

Total costs for the project are expected to be around $250 million, with additional funding expected from state and federal sources, as well as money invested into the project by UMMC itself.

 

For more information about the cancer center or how to support the campaign, visit abouttime.ms.