Marilyn Fixman spent her entire life helping people. If there was a need, she volunteered to fulfill it. Nothing clouded her optimism and focus on others—even her own breast cancer. Marilyn’s battle only deepened her compassion for others on the same journey.

“My mother felt blessed because she could afford her cancer care,” says Barbara Kennington, RN, one of Marilyn’s three daughters. “Her desire was to make sure that all patients could get the same care, even if they could not pay for it.”

The Marilyn Fixman Cancer Center, established at the former Jewish Hospital by Marilyn’s husband, Ben, through a fund in her memory, realized her dream. It was a place where women could turn for care without worrying about the cost. It reflected Marilyn’s great love for the hospital where she was treated and where she spent years volunteering at the Clover Garden gift shop.

The merger of Barnes and Jewish Hospitals in 1995 launched a new era of cancer care, and Marilyn’s fund evolved to advance with it. Most recently, the Marilyn Fixman Cancer Center Endowment Fund helped empower and educate patients and their families by supporting the Barnard Health and Cancer Information Center. The services of the Barnard Center, located at the Center for Advanced Medicine, are open to everyone and provided free of charge. This includes a variety of information and education programs on cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Professional staff at the Barnard Center also assist with information searches, offer a smoking cessation program and connect families to hospital therapy and art therapy programs, as well as to support groups for children of a parent with cancer and for young adults with cancer. Patients can even come to the Barnard Center for wigs, turbans, breast prostheses or nutritional supplements. A portrait of Marilyn Fixman and a plaque hang in the Barnard Center’s Education Room.

In 2008, The Barnard Center enabled more than 20,000 people to be active participants in decisions involving cancer care and treatment.

“My mother would have been happy about her fund being directed in this way,” Barbara says. “Very few patients were educated about cancer when she was being treated. Even today, a lot of people don’t know where to start after they are diagnosed.”

My mother lacked the education and confidence to navigate her treatment and relied on my father to handle her care. She wanted other people to be able to navigate their own treatment, and her fund helps those with cancer initiate that process. Whether you’re a child or adult affected by cancer, education is critical to one’s well-being.”

Many honor and memorial gifts for other people are directed to The Marilyn Fixman Cancer Center Endowment—a tribute to Marilyn’s legacy that her family finds both moving and vital.

“Every dollar given to my mother’s fund becomes a permanent source of support for a family’s education and empowerment when cancer touches their lives,” says Barbara, who is a longtime giver to Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation and a former Board member of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Auxiliary Parkview Chapter. “It’s a good thing any time you can give back to an institution like Barnes-Jewish that does so much good for so many people.”

“Our family is grateful for every thoughtful tribute gift to my mother’s fund.”

From Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation Tributes Newsletter--Second Quarter 2009