FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 18, 2002

NEW PARK HONORING CANCER SURVIVORS TO OPEN

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — When Richard A. Bloch, co-founder of tax preparation giant H&R Block, was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer on March 29, 1978, he was given just three months to live. Still cancer-free more than 23 years later, Bloch will fly into Sacramento on Sunday, Dec. 1, for a 1 p.m. ceremony to dedicate the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park, 2601 Stockton Blvd. (northeast corner of Stockton and 2nd Avenue).

Made possible by an $850,000 gift from the R. A. Bloch Cancer Foundation and more than $40,000 from local donors, the 1.2-acre park is intended as a place of hope and inspiration for people from throughout the region who have been affected by cancer. UC Davis Health System donated the land for the park.

Hundreds of local cancer survivors have been invited to share their stories and enjoy live music and food at the Dec. 1 ceremony. The event is free and open to the public. Speakers will include Richard and Annette Bloch; Ralph deVere White, director of the UC Davis Cancer Center; Donna Sanderson, executive director of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Sacramento affiliate; and Sacramento resident Gary Little, a six-year prostate cancer survivor and activist. Bloch, an author of three books about cancer survivorship, will autograph complimentary copies of his book, "Fighting Cancer."

The new Sacramento park is the 18th built by the Bloch foundation. The first Cancer Survivors Park was established in Kansas City, Mo., Bloch's hometown, in 1989. Parks followed in Orlando, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and a dozen other cities.

While each park reflects its individual city, the parks all have three common elements: a bronze sculpture by the late Mexican artist Victor Salmones, featuring eight life-sized figures navigating a maze that represents cancer treatment; a "positive mental attitude walk," featuring 14 plaques inscribed with inspirational messages; and a "road to recovery," marked with seven motivational plaques.

Bloch wrote all of the messages, including "Knowledge is a cancer patient's best friend," "Cancer is the most curable of all chronic disease" and "There are 8 million living Americans who have been diagnosed with cancer; 3 million are considered cured."

"Normally parks memorialize the dead," said Bloch, 76, who now lives in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "We wanted to do something as a tribute to the living."

Dino Dinovitz, former president and general manager of KCRA-TV, first approached the Blochs about building a Sacramento park. At the time, Dinovitz served on the boards of both UC Davis Children's Hospital and the R.A. Bloch Foundation. Former Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna, Jr., who died of kidney cancer in 1999, was another early supporter of the park.

"I'm just delighted for the Sacramento area that something as prestigious and beautiful as the Cancer Survivors Park will be located at UC Davis Medical Center," said Dinovitz, now president and general manager of KRON-TV in San Francisco.

Richard Green, executive director of the Stockton Boulevard Partnership, an association of property owners and businesses on Stockton Boulevard between 2nd Avenue and 48th Avenue, also said the park will be a boon for the city. "The park will help improve the attractiveness of Stockton Boulevard," Green said. "We're pleased and happy, and always grateful, for the university's contributions."

The new park was designed by Forrar Williams Architects. MarketOne Builders, Inc., was the general contractor; HLA Group was the landscape architect; and Buehler & Buehler Associatesprovided structural engineering support. All are Sacramento firms.

Hunter Industries of San Marcos donated irrigation materials; Valley Crest Tree Company of Sunole donated trees; in addition, 62 individuals and firms donated more than $40,000 to help complete the park.

"Nearly all of us have been touched by cancer in some way," said architect Hilton Williams, whose sister is a breast cancer survivor. "The park, as it matures over time, will provide a wonderful place for understanding, accepting and enjoying survivorship."

"This park will be an inspiration to cancer survivors throughout our region, and a great asset to our community," Sanderson said. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation donated $2,500 to help build the park.

"With its close proximity to the UC Davis Cancer Center and cancer research building, the park will be a source of comfort to a great number of people every year," deVere White said. "We are delighted to have been selected as a site for a park celebrating cancer survivors, and grateful to everyone who made it possible, especially the Bloch family."

UC Davis Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center between San Francisco and Portland, Ore., serves about 3,000 patients a year from throughout Northern California, southern Oregon and western Nevada.

For more information about other cancer survivor parks, visit http://www.blochcancer.org.

Copies of all news releases from UC Davis Health System are available on the Web at
http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

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Claudia Morain, Medical News Office, (916) 734-9023

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