Early Cancer Diagnosis Inspires $1.25M Gift to Case CCC

Christine and Timothy Ash posing for a picture together in a garden

Christine Ash, 扒哥黑料 (CWRU) alumna and emerita VP, and her husband Timothy have made a $1.25M gift to the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center to establish the Christine and Timothy Ash Fund for Cancer Innovation Research.

Ash, who graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees from CWRU, spent 50 years on campus working in the geology department, engineering school, and central administration, eventually rising to vice president of university planning and institutional research before retiring in 2015.

She also was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003 and again three additional times.

鈥淐ancer affects so many people; you鈥檇 be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn鈥檛 lost a loved one to it,鈥 said Ash, whose cancer hasn鈥檛 been detected since her last targeted radiation treatment in 2021. 鈥淎nd now, there are more and more instances of younger people being diagnosed鈥攅specially young women. That鈥檚 concerning, and we want to be able to help change that.鈥

The Ash's generous donation aims to drive more targeted therapeutic treatments and earlier cancer diagnoses, helping doctors catch cancers earlier鈥攍ike they did for her鈥攁nd, hopefully, lengthen patients鈥 lives.