Brain Tumor Center opens in Long Branch Facility at Monmouth Medical Center named in memory of David S. Zocchi BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff The new David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center opened at Monmouth Medical Center in October and the facility offers advanced medial treatment as well as providing comfort for patients and families with a waiting room and library. LONG BRANCH - What started out as a dream for a local doctor has turned into a reality with the opening of the first brain tumor center in the state at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch. The David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center, at the Leon Hess Cancer Center within Monmouth Medical Center, formally opened its doors to the community with a special ceremony Oct. 17. "My dream was to have a comprehensive brain tumor center in the state of New Jersey," said Dr. Sumul Raval, neuro-oncologist and medical director of the David S. Zocchi Center. "There was definitely a need for a brain tumor center and I wanted to start one. "I had a center planned in my mind, and I wanted to give it a name of someone who was a patient and was very close to my heart," he said. David S. Zocchi Raval called on Manasquan resident Judith Zocchi to help turn the concept for a brain tumor center into an operating facility. Zocchi's husband was a former patient of Raval's. Zocchi's husband, David S. Zocchi, died in 2005 after battling brain cancer for almost six years. Two weeks after her husband's death, Raval reached out to Zocchi to help develop the brain cancer facility. "He called me and asked me if I would help him with this," Zocchi said. "I already knew that I wanted to help families [whose loved ones have brain tumors], so I thought this would be a perfect fit. "It's been very healing for me," she said, about participating in the construction of a brain cancer treatment center at the hospital. "It makes his senseless death at 45 years old make sense," she said. The facility offers the most advanced medical treatments, in addition to providing care and comfort for patients and families, according to Zocchi. "I had talked to my sister about supporting families," Zocchi said. "I traveled with my husband all over the country and found that wherever we went, there were no areas for families. "I said I would only do this project if there was a room where families could go," she said, adding, "I wanted a sanctuary that was comfortable with recliners and comfortable seats for caregivers." The center comprises six rooms in the Second Avenue hospital, including one room for chemotherapy treatment, a hospice room, a doctor's office, a staff room, a patient library and a room for patients and caregivers with reclining chairs and a big-screen television. "The patient library room is also used as an area for social workers to sit and talk to patients," Zocchi said. In addition to treating patients, the center also offers programs for patients and caregivers, according to Zocchi. One program already offered at the center is a spousal support group, and Zocchi said, "There are a lot more programs coming up." The facility is hosting its first teleconference Dec. 4. The topic is "Treatment Update in Neurology," and it will be televised at the center and snacks will be served, Zocchi said. "People can come, be comfortable, watch and learn," Zocchi said. "Our programs are continually being developed," she said. "We are going to have seminars on brain tumors so people know what to look for." Raval called the brain tumor center a "very wonderful thing" to come to the hospital. "There are people who are in need of treatment," Raval said. "My intention is to help people who can't travel out of state to get care." Raval joined the staff at Monmouth Medical Center in January 2006, and he said he told the hospital he wanted to start a brain tumor center on the premises. "They were very excited," he said adding that they helped him obtain the needed space at the hospital. "The center is going to provide everything the patients need to care for brain tumors," he said, adding, "We are all very excited and I am very proud that we were able to do this." Raval said although the hospital was on board with the project, he still needed money to build the facility. "[Zocchi] is a big-time supporter of the center," he said, adding that she headed all fundraising efforts to support the structure. In just 22 months after Zocchi's husband died, the center opened. "Dr. Raval called me two weeks after my husband died and asked me to do this with him," Zocchi said. "My husband has only been gone for 22 months and we have a center, so things got done pretty quickly. "What drove me was that when you have a disease like a brain tumor, you don't have time to wait for something to open. "You don't have five years to wait," she added. Through fundraising efforts and finding donors, Zocchi said she raised several thousands of dollars for the project. In addition to raising funds, Zocchi remains involved at the center as a volunteer. She is in charge of the support programs at the center and attends the monthly meetings of the brain tumor center staff. Zocchi said she is proud of being a part of the creation of the David S. Zocchi Center because of how important it is to the community. "I had to travel all across the country to get the best treatment for my husband," she said. "I don't have any children and I own my own company, so I was able to do this. "There are some people who only get two weeks' vacation at their jobs, and they can't just pick up and leave the state," she said. At the opening ceremony for the center, Zocchi said many patients who she never met approached her to say thank you. "It was, to me, the highlight of the night," Zocchi said. "The medical founder of this whole thing is Dr. Raval," she said. "Without him, this would have never happened." For more information about the David S. Zocchi Center, call 1-877-577-9800.